I Take You
by Dracoisalooker76
Summary: "I smile. Tomorrow I am marrying Ashley Spinelli."
1. The Rehearsal Dinner

_Welcome to the wedding of TJ Detweiler and Ashley Spinelli. There will be five chapters each detailing a specific wedding event - the rehearsal dinner, the bride getting ready, the groom getting ready, the actual wedding ceremony, and the reception. Enjoy!_

 _This story can be read stand-alone, but technically exists in the same universe as_ The Santa Claus _and_ Bringing in a Brand New Year _\- so if you've read those and wanted to know about TJ and Spinelli's wedding, which is teased in_ Bringing in a Brand New Year _, this is it. However, like I said, this can read as a stand-alone so, if you haven't read those, you'll still be set to read this._

 _The gang is about 25._

 _Disclaimer: I own nothing_

...

 **I Take You**

 _July 2017_

The Rehearsal Dinner

"If you don't quit looking at your phone, I'm calling best man duties and taking it away from you," Vince says, shaking his head. I blacken the screen and lower it sheepishly while Mikey, Gus, and my college roommate laugh. "Seriously, dude, this is how we've all felt for years – waiting on your dumbass to get places."

I fiddle with my tie. My hat is sitting in my suitcase at the hotel, my mother having forbid me to put it on. Fiddling with my hat has been my nervous habit since I was eight, or maybe even younger, but the tie will have to do for now.

"I know," I groan. "But I've never been the early one."

"And he's never been late to something as momentous as the beginning of the wedding weekend," Mikey adds. "Oh, I can only imagine his veins, fluttering with both nerves and excitement, and it can only be the most overwhelming experience."

I could hug him. Instead I just smirk at Vince. "See, I'm allowed to be antsy."

"Yeah, but you're making me antsy, too," he says. Then he reaches forward and smacks my hand away from my tie. "You're going to strangle yourself."

"And then your whole week of worrying will have been for nothing," Gus says. He puts his hand on my shoulder and I don't miss the irony in our role reversal. "She'll be here any minute."

Today is Friday and I haven't seen Spin since Tuesday, when Gretchen and her other bridesmaids whisked her off for her bachelorette adventure. That was the plan, that she would spend Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday morning with the girls, while Vince and the guys kept me occupied with a camping trip, just like old times. But, I hadn't realized she'd be so far away. We stayed in Northwest Arkansas. The girls took Spin on a four-and-a-half hour road trip to Memphis.

Not that I would have seen her anyway. According to Becky – although I'm not sure why all my buddies decided to listen to my sister _now_ but whatever – the bachelor and bachelorette parties should be separate, despite Spin and I having the idea to do them joint. But, it gave her a chance to hang out with her college friends, who she hasn't seen much of in the last year since she moved in with me in DC, and hanging out with the guys is never bad. I just miss her. We spent six years mostly apart while I stayed in Arkansas for undergrad and she went to Boston, then she stayed there for her master's and I took an opportunity on Capitol Hill I couldn't refuse. It was hard, but we did it. However, when you've spent six years in a long distance relationship and you get a taste of what it's like to live together and see each other every day, it's hard to go back.

Spin texted me earlier this afternoon, saying they hit some nasty traffic and that they'd be a little late getting to the church for our rehearsal. I could just imagine her fuming in the front passenger seat as Gretchen drove at a snail's pace, obeying all the traffic laws and commenting on the rates of vehicular fatalities at different speeds when Spin tells her to hurry up. She stopped texting me about twenty minutes ago, when they finally got to the hotel we're all staying at tonight to check in. They were going to quickly drop their things, change, and then race over.

I keep looking at my phone for the time. The hotel is about a ten minute drive from the church so hopefully they'll be here any minute like Gus said.

"Yeah, Teej, it's not like you have to worry about her getting cold feet," Vince says. He nudges my arm with his. "If she hasn't dumped you to the curb in a decade, I think you're good."

Sometimes it's hard to believe that Spin and I have been together for nine-and-a-half years, but time certainly has flown. We're no longer the shy fifteen-year-olds who confessed our mutual feelings to each other on Christmas Eve. She's starting her second year as a fourth grade teacher this fall and I'm starting my first year of law school at GW. If Ms. Finster could see us now – well, she will, actually. Tomorrow.

I smile. Tomorrow I am marrying Ashley Spinelli.

Finally, there's commotion in the front entry area of the church and I can hear the girls talking as they walk in. My heart rate seems to suddenly return to normal and I put my phone back in my pocket. As soon as Spin walks through the doors, her eyes search out mine, and the scowl drops off her face as soon as she finds me. She takes off, nearly running the down the aisle to where I stand with the rest of the boys about four pews from the back. I step away from them and catch her in my arms, swinging her around.

When I set her back down, we don't look away. I press my forehead to hers and look into her eyes. Nothing else around us even matters.

"Hi," I say.

"Hi."

"We're getting married."

She smiles and leans up to give me a kiss.

"Ashley, come on!" We both break away to see Joey holding his hands up. "You're already late – you can kiss him later. Let's get a move on."

"Shut up, Joey!" she yells back at her brother. Her mom looks like she's going to kill them both.

The priest just laughs though, not concerned with the fact that we're running more than a half hour behind or that the now-grown Spinelli siblings are battling it out in his church. I know Father Lawrence Vicario well at this point in my relationship with Spin. He's the priest at the Catholic church her family has been going to forever and good friends of her grandparents. Back in college, when we started talking about marriage as a concrete idea rather than some far off hypothetical, I spent a little time with Father Lawrence, and he was one of the priests who taught the classes I took in order to convert. I wasn't raised with any religion, and if anything I guess I'm kind of Jewish, but we never practiced anything. However, I know faith means a lot to Spin's family – and to her too although she would never make me convert. But, to get married in her family's parish, we both needed to be Catholic and so, by the time I proposed, we both were.

Father Lawrence begins to run through what the ceremony will look like. We pick exact words and phrases to use when there are multiple options we can choose. Then the day-of coordinator insists on a dry run of all the movements. We practice the processional. Vince and myself will just come in the side to start, while the other three groomsmen will walk Spin's three bridesmaids. Then Gretchen, as maid of honor, will walk down by herself before the doors close again to prepare for Spin's entrance. They all practice their speed down a small portion of the aisle before walking normally the rest of the way to the front to take their place, then Spin and both her parents practice behind them. The day-of coordinator tells everyone exactly how to sit, how to stand, instructs Gretchen that her one job the entire ceremony is to make sure Spin's dress and veil are smooth. Father Lawrence tells us the order of the Mass, when certain parts happen. It's all very overwhelming and I take Spin's hand. She squeezes back.

"And, if we mess something up, everyone laugh like it's a joke," I say, pointing to our wedding party. Everyone chuckles and I take it as practice for tomorrow.

While Father Lawrence takes us to do our pre-wedding confessions, Gus and Joey practice the readings they'll do tomorrow during the Mass. Then we practice processing out, Spin and I arm-in-arm, then Vince and Gretchen, who are followed by the others in pairs pre-matched together by height.

"The photographer will probably take a few pictures and then we'll rush you four over to sign the marriage certificate," the coordinator says, gesturing to me, Spin, Gretch, and Vince. She turns to the others. "At that point, y'all can hop in the limo and get out of the heat."

It's July in Arkansas. Luckily our suits are light in color. The girls, on the other hand, are wearing navy dresses. But, they're short dresses and our reception is indoors so they'll only be outside for pictures. Spin's the only one in a big heavy dress tomorrow, but she's always cold, accustomed to wearing her leather jacket in even the hottest weather.

"Anyone have any questions?" No one does. "Perfect. I'll see you all tomorrow."

Every time someone says the word _tomorrow_ I get this excited jolt of energy that floods through me. I give Spin's hand a squeeze and she puts her other hand on my arm, a wordless signal that she feels the same thing.

I lean down and whisper in her ear. "Why can't tomorrow be today?"

"Because they like seeing us suffer." I steal a kiss.

"Hey, lovebirds!" We turn to see our wedding party waving us over. "We gotta go!"

Oh, right. The rehearsal dinner. Our parents ditched midway through the practicing to go over to the restaurant to try and beat all of our extended family and out-of-town guests, who, despite the girls being late, were still going to get there on time. It seems like I'm never going to get a long enough minute alone with Spin.

I wrap my arms around her as the girls wave her toward their car. "Don't leave me."

"Teej, it's a twenty minute car ride." She rolls her eyes when I groan. "Oh, you big baby, you haven't seen me for a week, you can go twenty more minutes," she teases.

But I can see in her eyes that she doesn't want to leave me either.

"You can go with the boys if you'd prefer," Gretchen says. "We can bring one of them instead."

Spin shakes her head and grabs my face with her hands. "I will see you at the restaurant."

"You're so mean," I joke.

She kisses me and then backs away.

"Well, you knew that when you asked me to marry you, so that's not my problem." She winks and prances off, the other four girls squealing about something as they head to the car.

That car ride feels like the longest twenty minutes of my life.

The banquet room of the restaurant where the dinner is happening is already packed with people when we arrive. Our families are all mingling together, our parents actively introducing the different sides to each other. It'll also be a good chance for our wedding party to get to know each other better. While obviously our gang knows each other well, this is the first time that everyone in our party has been in the same room, although some know each other better than others. We all toss our stuff at a big circle table near the front before Spin and I leave them to start making the rounds – introducing each other to members of our families we might not have already met or only met a few times as well as getting pulled away by our closer family members who know us both well.

Then, what seems like hours later, dinner is served, followed by dessert. And while we're all finishing off the last of that, my father stands and clinks his glass.

Now, Sam Detweiler is not a speechmaker, but I know Becky probably played a huge hand in the writing of this toast. I'm sure she wouldn't want to see him embarrass himself, or her by association, in front of a crowd this size like he had at her wedding.

"Good evening, everyone," he starts. He holds a piece of paper and I can see it shaking in his hand despite the even tone of his voice. "I want to welcome everyone and thank you for being here. I think I met all of you, but if I didn't or you can't remember, I'm Sam and–" he gestures to my mother "–this is my wife, Jan, and we're TJ's parents. Now he's the speechmaker in our family and, the Detweiler side learned that the hard way at my daughter's wedding, so I'm going to keep this brief."

He's not doing so bad. He takes a look over at us and I give him a thumbs up. That seems to work a little.

"Before I go any further, I first want to thank Bob and Flo. They've become more than just our neighbors over the years. I speak for both Jan and myself in that we consider them great friends and I can't imagine my son marrying into a greater family."

The crowd claps and once it dies down my father starts again.

"They've put in a lot of time and effort into planning for tomorrow. It's going to be great, really. We were over there today and it looks better than we could have imagined," he tells the crowd. Then he turns to Spin's parents, addressing them directly. "But, on top of that, Jan and I both really want to thank you for raising the daughter that you did. It's been a joy to watch her grow up alongside our son and she's been a wonderful addition underfoot at our house for nearly twenty years now. She has grown into just an amazing young woman, as fiery and strong as she is beautiful, and the way she loves our son is quite extraordinary." Then he turns to Spin, nods at her to show that while he's thanking her parents he's also thanking her.

Then he adds, still looking at her, "And, on top of that, we know she'll keep TJ in line."

I don't know if he meant it as a joke or if he's actually serious – I'm inclined to believe he's serious, my dad was not always the biggest fan of getting calls from the principal for my pranks – but regardless of how he meant it, the crowd bursts into laughter. It takes him aback for a moment, but he recovers.

"That being said, I should probably say something about my son now."

The crowd laughs again. I think that was a planned joke because I see Becky nodding and my dad looks less surprised.

"Every father comes up here during his rehearsal dinner speech and says he has the greatest son in the world. Of course. But tonight's my night to say it and I really do have the greatest son in the world," he turns to me as he continues addressing the crowd. "A little over twenty-five years ago when TJ was born, I didn't realize I could be as proud as I am now of him and his many attributes. He has integrity and a lively spirit. He's a great friend. A great son. And I know he'll be a great husband and, one day, a great father."

Oh, man, he's gonna make me cry. Vince notices and from his spot beside me throws an arm around my shoulder and makes a "whoot, whoot" that gets the whole table cheering. That helps.

"You're going to hear a lot more speeches tomorrow, so I'm going to end mine here with another thank you to everyone for coming and supporting our children tonight and tomorrow as they start this next journey. So, please, raise your glass in honor of the bride and groom."

Everyone clinks glasses.

"And, now, I'd like to hand this microphone off to Vince LaSalle, the best man, who has a little something to share from the wedding party."

He walks over, my mother following him, to hand off the microphone. Spin and I both stand as they hand off, hugging my parents and thanking them for everything. After they sit down in their seats, Vince lifts the microphone and I share a look with Spin to see she has her eyebrow raised, just as confused as I am. I hadn't realized Vince was doing anything tonight. He's got his best man's speech tomorrow. He does realize that's said tomorrow, right?

Spin retakes my hand as Vince starts talking.

"Hi, everyone, like Mr. Detweiler said, my name is Vince and I'm the best man, which means I'm the one who had Becky in my ear for the last year telling me that if anything went wrong at her little brother's wedding, it was all on me."

My side of the family knows Becky's bossiness, so they laugh at his little jab at her. My sister shakes her head at him. Spin's side catches on quick though and the whole room is reacting to Vince's joke and once it's quiet again he starts back up.

"One thing that Becky told me _repeatedly_ for the last few months was that there's this sort of unofficial requirement for the rehearsal dinner to have some sort of slideshow detailing their life story or whatnot. But, as Gretchen, the maid of honor, and I were putting it together, it was too boring and too vanilla and that's just not Teej and Spin – as individuals or as a couple. But half of the wedding party has known them since elementary school, and the other half was around when we weren't during college, so we figured you don't need a slideshow to learn their story; between the eight of us, we could just tell you." He motions to the table. "Gus, get up here and help me out."

"What are they doing?" Spin whispers, her eyes focused on Gus and Vince as they turn around, backs to the audience.

Mikey stands at this point too and hands each of them sunglasses. Then he heads to what looks like a karaoke machine.

I shake my head at her. "I have no idea."

Our friend presses play and the familiar opening of the _Fresh Prince of Bel-Air_ theme song. The two of them, backs still turned, start shifting from foot to foot in unison to the beat and everyone in the room is excitedly getting into it and the two haven't even started talking.

"I can pull off a convincing Will Smith, can't I?" Vince mouths to me. I can't respond before he turns to face the audience and starts rapping.

"Now this is a story all about how,  
We're seeing Ashley Spinelli in a wedding gown,  
And we'd like to take a minute, so just sit right there,  
To tell you all about these two, cause they're the perfect pair."

What even...? I love it but how did they pull this off? Gus turns around and the two of them are now both facing the crowd, Vince looking every bit the Fresh Prince and Gus pulling together a decent Carlton dance. When they start again, they rap together, alternating between lines of verse.

"In Bentonville, Arkansas, born and raised,  
On the playground is where they spent most of their days,  
Spin was real tough, took charge of the school,  
TJ was trouble, never followed the rules,  
K through 9, their friendship was good,  
Together causing trouble in the neighborhood,  
Then sparks started flying and they both got scared  
But they get a happy ending so don't you despair."

I'm dying. I have tears running down my face I'm laughing so hard. Spin has her face in my shoulder, her whole body shaking with amusement from watching the two of them.

"Then finally. Christmas Eve, 2007,  
They acted on feelings they had since age eleven,  
So, Teej grew a pair, gave her a mistletoe kiss  
Which started them on this last decade of bliss.  
Yo, first year – ha, they were bad,  
Kissing and flirting in the halls between class,  
They thought, 'is this what dating's gonna be like?  
Hmm, then that's more than alright.'  
But wait, graduation, right around the corner,  
Will their long distance work or will we be their mourners?  
Teej stayed here, Spin moved there,  
But distance can't ruin a love this rare."

They're really hitting their stride now. As the musical break goes, they just stand, dancing together in unison. How did they do this without me knowing? This looks so well practiced. They're not even reading off anything – it's all memorized and perfectly rapped to the beat.

"They grew together while being apart,  
Both of them studied so they could follow their hearts,  
Spin went into teaching, Teej chose law,  
And then what happened next everybody foresaw  
The ring got bought, TJ dropped to one knee  
And asked, 'Will you spend the rest of your life with me?'  
Spin said yes, and that's the tale,  
Of how this epic love story finally prevails."

They finish up with one last verse.

"So, now we're all here, about seven or eight,  
To celebrate the union of these two soulmates,  
So, please, raise your glasses, and help us say cheers  
To Teej and Spin; to many happy years."

They get a standing ovation. Vince has to settle them down before he can finish up. He lifts a glass.

"In all seriousness, on behalf of all of us we just want to say congratulations," he says to us. "You two are amazing friends to all of us and we're so excited to see you guys finally get married." He winks to the crowd. "This has been a long time coming. So, to the happy couple!"

Vince comes back over to the table to give us each a hug and Spin takes the microphone from him. We agreed that she would give a few words of thanks tonight and I'd say the big thank you tomorrow. She keeps it short and sweet, not one for gushing.

"TJ and I want to say thank you for coming out tonight and joining us. I know there's much more exciting things you can be doing on a Friday night besides coming to this, though the rap was an unexpected surprise," she says, smiling at our table. "But, instead, you're here with us as we get ready to get married tomorrow. We're really thankful to have such wonderful friends and family, and I personally would like to thank the Detweilers in particular for hosting tonight and for your kind words, not just tonight, but for years."

She smiles at my parents and sister and veers a little off script, turning to the crowd.

"When I was thirteen I got into this massive teenage argument with my mother, which in hindsight was probably about absolutely nothing important." She pauses while everyone chuckles, knowing Spin and her mom all too well. "But I ran down the street fuming. TJ wasn't even home, but I was welcomed into the house and I begged to be adopted. I got nothing but some laughs and a call went to my mom to tell her where I was, but–" she turns back to my parents and sister "–now I'm less than twenty-four hours away from being able to officially say that I'm part of your family. So, thank you for raising the love of my life and welcoming me with nothing but open arms, even when I was a bratty teenager. You guys are the best."

My mother is crying. She and Spin have always gotten along well. When we stop to hug Becky, I can hear her tell Spin that our mother had lots of practice with bratty teenage girls. They share a laugh, nothing anyone could have foreseen when we were younger and Becky was a bratty teenager herself.

With the toasting over for the night, we're back to mingling with our families, taking these last few moments to make the rounds and thanking everyone without the pressure of tomorrow on us yet. By the time we leave, it's already after nine and with the big day ahead I know I won't be able to spend too much time with Spin before we have to go to bed.

We all head up to the honeymoon suite when we arrive back to the hotel. We checked it out earlier while the girls were stuck in traffic, so we already know what to expect, but it's still a shock when we walk in. It's a huge room, the size of a small apartment. The door opens into a front living area with a couch and two armchairs. In the bay window along the wall, they have a table with two chairs. The living area opens up into the bedroom area, with a king bed and a large closet, and from there you walk into a large bath area with fancy tub, a shower, two vanity areas. It's massive. But, it's great when we try to get ten people in the room at the same time. All the girls sit together on the couch, Mikey taking one armchair while the other guys sit on the floor with their backs against the television console. Spin and I sit in the other chair, Spin on my lap with her head on my shoulder. I play with the hem of the white lace dress she wore to the rehearsal. I thought her mother was going to have a heart attack when she covered it with her leather jacket midway through, complaining that she was cold.

I can't focus on anything but her. She's so beautiful and finally having her in my arms is making my body crazy.

She presses her face into my neck as our friends talk around us. She's tired and they have to be awake a lot earlier than we do tomorrow so I know I can't stay too much longer. But I savor these last moments as the girls start moving and the guys begin to follow them. The rest of our rooms are right down the hallway from the suite and it already feels weird to know I'll be so close but so far.

Tonight, I'm rooming with Vince. We decided to book hotel rooms rather than stay with our parents solely for the reason that we didn't want to feel like we were having a giant sleepover. That, and Spin and I aren't leaving for our honeymoon until Sunday night and neither of us really wanted to spend out first night married under either of our parents' roofs. This way all ten of us are in the same place too, which makes coordination easier, and we're doing a brunch on Sunday for anyone whose staying at the hotel from out-of-town and our families, so it just made sense to be here.

But, tonight, per tradition, we can't stay together, so Gretchen is taking my side of the bed and I'm taking the full in the room she's sharing with Vince. I think she got the better end of the bargain tonight.

I wrap my arms around Spin after we stand, not wanting to let go. As we're kissing goodbye, I realize that this is our last kiss before we're married. I smile into the kiss and when we pull apart I rest my head on her forehead. She smiles up at me.

"The next time I see you, you're going to be walking down the aisle," I say.

Her eyes light up, sparkling with excitement. "I'm going to be your wife."

"I'm going to be your husband." I press a kiss to her temple. "I love you."

"I love you, too. I'll see you at the church."

"Going to the chapel and we're...gonna get ma-a-a-ried," I sing, and she rolls her eyes at me, slapping her hand on my chest.

"Oh my God, you're absurd," she teases. But I just wink at her and blow her a kiss, never turning around until the door shuts, separating us.

...

 _Notes_

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air _originally aired in the early to mid 1990s, though reruns continued into the 2000s/2010s._

 _There is a town called Bentonville in Northwest Arkansas, though I just liked the name and the location of where the town is for this fic, I'm not actually basing any descriptions of where they live/grew up on the actual Bentonville._

 _TJ mentions that he's starting at GW for law school - that's George Washington University in Washington, DC._

 _"Going to the chapel and we're...gonna get ma-a-a-ried" is from the song_ "Chapel of Love" _by The Dixie Cups._

 _The chapters will alternate in point of view between TJ and Spinelli. My goal is to post the chapters every day/every other day over the next five to ten days._

 _Next up, we'll see Spinelli getting ready to go to the ceremony._ _Thanks for reading!_


	2. Pre-Ceremony: The Bride

Pre-Ceremony

 _Bride_

When my alarm goes off, I'm already awake and I can hear Gretchen silence it from where I'm sitting at the vanity. The makeup artist is going to have her hands full with me today. I didn't get much sleep, just moments here and there. Honestly, I felt like I was six years old again, laying in my bed on Christmas Eve waiting for Santa Claus, only with this there's no preteen Joey there to ruin the magic by telling me it's all in my head.

The same levels of excitement flooded through my veins then as it did last night, not letting me get more than an hour of sleep at a time before I woke up again, checking the clock to see if it was time to get up yet. I finally just said screw it and I've been sitting here tapping my fingers on the counter for the last hour or so, just waiting.

Gretchen has my phone. Everyone thought that would be a good idea so that, just in case someone decides to call me rather than anyone else, I won't have to worry about picking it up. But, it also means I can't text TJ, can't talk to him, can't hear his voice. I know this is some stupid tradition or whatever, but I'm over it. Three o'clock cannot come fast enough.

"You know, sitting there is not going to make time go faster."

I spin around in the little stool to see Gretchen standing in the doorway. She's wearing one of those dumb robes all my friends insisted on. I gave them that – they can do whatever they want. And, honestly, all these little details don't really matter to me anyway. All that matters to me is that at three the doors open and TJ is standing at the altar waiting for me.

"You need to do something to distract yourself," she continues.

The rest of my bridesmaids should be arriving momentarily, we told them to be down the hall by eight thirty so we're all here, ready to go when the hair and make-up people come at nine. Honestly, I'm surprised my mother isn't here yet. I'm surprised she didn't try to stay over too. She's a wreck, so excited she's bursting into tears every five minutes, and my dad isn't much better.

And TJ's dad thought his toast was going to be bad. My dad's going to blubber all the way through his today.

Gretchen pulls something from the pocket of her robe and hands it to me. I take the piece of paper and my breath catches in my throat when I recognize TJ's nearly illegible chicken scratch.

"Go on," she says, walking by me to go to the sink area. "I'm going to brush my teeth and get ready for the stylists."

I open the letter. It's not a fancy card, but it is on cardstock. Teej isn't gifted with art, but he more than makes up for it in his words and in his actions. I haven't even started reading it when my heart starts pounding in my chest. He dotted the 'I's of my name with tiny skulls, something of an inside joke for the two of us now and something he only ever does on Valentine's Day. I take a deep breath and then read the words.

 _Ashley Funicello Spinelli,_

 _The day is finally here! We've been planning this for so long that it was starting to feel like the day was never going to come and as I write this I'm shaking. But, not with nerves, because I've never been more confident in any decision that I've ever made than in my decision to spend the rest of my life by your side. My body is jittery with excitement, with joy, and with gratitude because if I could perfectly plan my entire life it wouldn't be half as good as the one I have right now. I love you, Spin, and I've been so unbelievably lucky. I don't remember a time when I wasn't at your side and I don't remember a time ever not wanting to be there. Today, we just make that official._

 _We've gone on so many adventures, Spin – from our prankster days in elementary school right up to now – but I think this is going to be the best one yet. I cannot wait to be your husband, but that was my plan all along. I've been thinking and dreaming about this day since we were teenagers and if I cry up there just know it's because this moment is more perfect than anything I could have planned in even my wildest schemes._

 _You are, without a doubt, the greatest thing to ever happen to me. You've been my best friend, my rock, my first love and my only love. And today I receive the ring that visually proves to the world what I feel in my heart._

 _See you at the altar._

 _Love, your husband-to-be_

Damn him. Good thing Gretch gave this to me before the make-up lady gets here or else I would have needed it to be touched up.

My mother arrives like a whirlwind. She's already dressed, has her hair done, and her make up the way she wants it. Without much she can do yet, she just goes about tidying the room, which, to be honest, we didn't really get a chance to mess up yet. But, it's better than her giving me crazy advice or telling embarrassing stories, so I don't stop her. Gretchen and I are still in our robes, and when the other bridesmaids come in with breakfast for us, they are too. We all drink mimosas together and eat the only thing I'm probably going to get all day. I roll my eyes at that and shove another bagel in my mouth as the door to the suite becomes a revolving door of professionals ready to make us all look our best.

I've already done a hair and makeup trial, so I already know what the final product will look like, but I'm still jittery in the chair while the woman starts by curling my hair. While she works on my hair, the other girls get theirs done. There's a make up lady and a hair lady for them so two can go at a time. My hair lady wants to get the majority of the curling done by the time the make up artist is scheduled to arrive and then they'll work in tandem.

My mom watches like a hawk while the two work – the women telling me to close my eyes, to open my eyes, to look up, to pout, to hold still, to tilt my head forward. And, while they work, my mom can't keep her mouth shut and just keeps talking, telling them stories and embarrassing me in front of everyone in the room, knowing full well that I can't stop her. But, my hair finishes first and then the make up artist blends the false eyelashes into my real ones with mascara and they can spin me to look in the mirror.

It's perfect.

I didn't want too much makeup. I don't wear a lot anyway, so I didn't want to look completely different and I don't. It's just enough to bring out my best features. My hair is even better than the trial, when the woman was trying to get hired in the first place. I have a few loose curls left out of the updo to frame my face. She has gathered my dark hair into a low bun off to one side, with a loose braid that feeds into it. I've worn braids since I thought it looked too childish to wear pigtails, French braids all through high school and then more intricate designs as I learned more skills in college.

"Oh, Ashley, you look so beautiful," my mother says and I can tell from the way her voice wavers that she's getting ready to cry again.

"Ma, stop it," I say, shaking my head at her. "You can't cry because you'll make me cry."

I'm not a big crier so I'm not expecting to tear up much today, though I have already had a couple of moments this morning. But, sometimes, if I see someone else crying it triggers it for me. My husband-to-be is definitely the happy crier out of the two of us. I roll my eyes at the thought – if TJ starts bawling I might be toast.

But, at least it makes my mother focus on her breathing and trying not to cry. She doesn't want to make me ruin my make up.

We're finished a little early, so we can sit around and finish off the mimosas. The florist shows up and while they start separating out the bouquets and boutonnieres, we decide it's close enough to time to start putting our dresses on. Gretchen puts hers on first and then helps me into mine.

When I bought my dress, I wasn't expecting it. While TJ and I were up to grab some boxes I didn't want to ship to DC from where I had been living with Gretchen in Boston, we stopped in New York on our way back for one last friend get-together with Mikey, who lives in the city. Gretchen came too so the four of us had these plans to hang out – but apparently, Mikey had plans he didn't share because he definitely brought us to a certain section of the city so he could say, "Oh, look, a bridal salon, let's just go take a look! It'll be fun!"

I did not want to go. I'd only looked briefly since the proposal and poor Teej had to sit in the waiting room by himself when we were supposed to be hanging out together. I was pissed and I tried to sabotage the appointment because that's just the type of person I am. I told the bridal consultant that I wanted a ballgown dress with lots of lace and that I wanted to look like a princess and it definitely needed to be strapless, sweetheart neckline – I was tossing out all the buzzwords I'd heard from watching dress shows with Gretchen and Mikey over the years and not telling her anything that I had actually been considering. They, of course, saw right through me, but it was their own faults for dragging me in there.

The joke ended up being on me though because the fourth dress the bridal consultant put on me – I don't know if she realized what I was doing or if it was just dumb luck or what – ended up being it. It gave me that infamous "moment" – the one Mikey insisted that I needed to feel as we were talking to her about what I was looking for and the one I was convinced didn't exist. When I saw it on the hanger I thought it looked too big but the material of the dress flowed out at my hips and it swayed as I walked. It even had the cap sleeves that I hadn't told the woman I needed for my church ceremony – and they were made out of beads, not lace. In fact, there was not a single stitch of lace on the whole dress, just a little ruching on the top that made me look like I actually had some curves and not the body of a five-year-old like I actually have. I don't know how she did it, but she did. She made me cry, the girl who was convinced the crying on those shows Gretchen and Mikey liked to watch was fixed. How embarrassing.

I will never live it down.

Now, as I look at myself in the full-length mirror we moved into the living area, I have that same rapid heartbeat. As Gretchen finishes up with the gazillion buttons on the back and everyone around me squeals and the photographer snaps some pictures, I realize that it wasn't the dress itself that made me cry. It's the idea that this is the dress that I'm going to marry TJ in that makes me feel like this – and I need to think about something else before I contradict myself about not being a crier and start in with the waterworks.

So I ask someone to hand me the remote to the television and I quickly find some on-demand wrestling to watch from the couch. I flop down and focus on that instead. My mother looks like she's going to start screaming about how I'm going to ruin my dress by sitting in it, but I need this. I need something to distract me. The limo may be arriving soon for the boys, but I still have a half hour before the limo returns here for us.

"Only you would watch wrestling in your wedding dress," Gretchen laughs.

It's an old match. I've seen it before, but that doesn't matter. "I need this," I say as Madame Punisher knocks her competition to the mat.

The first round is just finishing when there's a knock on the door. I don't know who it could be. Maybe my dad? But he was supposed to be going straight to the church. The florist is here. The photographer just left to head over to the church to beat the boys and take some venue shots. Everything else is done.

Gretchen walks to the door, putting her eye to the peephole to see who it is. She turns around.

"It's Vince."

I roll my eyes and gather my dress, stomping toward the door. I hear my mother turn the television off.

"Vince, get lost."

"Let me in. I just have a quick question!"

Vince is persistent and he'll stay there until we let him in, so I nod to Gretchen and back up so she can quickly shoo him in and shut the door. He grins at her and then looks to me. Within seconds, he's walking toward me, arms out, and engulfs me in a hug.

"You look beautiful, Spin," he says in my ear. I thank him as we pull apart.

Back in elementary school, out of the entire group I probably would have said I was the least close to Vince. He and I had this weird antagonistic friendship, which probably stemmed from the fact that we were both attempting to be TJ's right hand man and we're both stubborn as hell. But in middle school, probably around the time Vince realized I wasn't going to be a threat to the title of TJ's best friend, that changed and the similarities that once repelled us brought us closer. By the end of high school, I thought of Vince as a brother – a protective one at that – and he's called me his sister on more than one occasion.

To be honest, he acts more like the stereotypical big brother than Joey does. Maybe it's because Joey and I are both too independent or because Joey was so much older than me that by the time I grew out of being an annoyance he was already out of the house, but for whatever reason, Vince seemed to step into that role for me and, in turn, I became the sister he never had. It's weird because I don't see Mikey and Gus that way – while they're my best guy friends, I wouldn't go as far to call them brothers. No matter what TJ says, there's always some alliances that are stronger than others in large friend groups. It's just natural.

"Wait until Teej sees you," Vince says. "He's gonna lose it."

I look at Vince in his outfit. He's wearing a light grey suit – well, he's missing the jacket, but I assume that's back in their room. The grey is so light it's almost like a stone color, with just the right twinge of blue to it that it really complements the navy of Gretchen's dress as she comes to stand next to him. I wasn't sure when TJ explained the color what it would actually look like, but I trusted him to make a good decision. He's the planner, after all.

But, when I look at Vince, I just picture TJ. Whereas Vince has a navy tie around his neck, TJ will wear white. They'll have boutonnieres that aren't attached yet. He's going to look so handsome.

We decided not to do a first look until the doors open in the church. Everyone we tell thinks it's TJ who insisted on the formal doors-open moment, but, in a shocking turn of events, it was me who was the one demanding for the traditional. TJ initially thought the first look was a great idea because we could get our pictures all taken before the ceremony and just jump right into the reception without having to make our guests endure a long cocktail hour. Call me a sucker for sentimentality, but when he said it like that it turned me off completely. Originally the idea hadn't been so bad – we could have the moment privately without pews full of people watching. But, when he said it like he did, all I could think about was that I wanted the wedding photos to be of us married, not twenty minutes away from the whole thing. Besides, if I saw Teej before, I'm not sure I'd be able to let him go.

TJ turned me into a softy I swear.

"What do you want, Vince?" I ask, pulling myself out of my thoughts and getting him back on topic.

It works.

"The limo's here," he says.

I cross my arms. "You couldn't have just texted that?"

"Well, between deep breathing sessions, Teej thought we should switch the order around and, if you girls are ready, have you all go over first so you can take your pictures and get in the room before we get there. Less of a chance that he'll accidentally see you." He shrugs. "Figured it'd be easier to tell you that in person rather than through text."

I don't really think about anything he said after the first bit. "He's really freaking out?"

Vince smiles. "He's alternating between obsessing over minor details and wanting to cry of happiness, so yeah, he's a hot mess."

My three college roommates giggle over the idea of TJ's overly emotional side and Gretchen just shakes her head at the unhealthy obsession TJ has with his perfect plans. I know that all too well so I turn to Gretchen and hold out my hand.

"Phone, please."

She doesn't deny me my request. I take it in my hands and start to dial, but Vince stops me, telling me he has TJ's phone. I call Gus instead.

"Hey, Gretchen, what's up?" he asks as he picks up.

"Put TJ on the line."

Gus splutters for a second. "Spinelli? I'm not supposed to–"

"Now, Jarhead!"

There's a little shuffle and when TJ answers he sounds relieved, but also exhausted, like he does when his plans start going haywire.

"Spin, we agreed–" I cut him off.

"You need to calm down," I say. "If things don't go perfectly, oh well, that's the thing about marriage. It's not perfect, Teej, but it's ours and the same logic applies to the wedding."

I can almost feel him relaxing. He chuckles softly into the phone.

"It's not like you to wax poetically like that," he teases. "Since when were you the romantic of our pair?"

"I have my moments." I let out a breath. "I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I am. I promise," he says. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"But, we agreed not to talk, so I'm going to hang up on you now so you can get in the limo, okay? I'll see you in a little under two hours, my beautiful bride."

I roll my eyes. "You haven't seen me yet."

"I don't need to see you to know you're beautiful, Spin. You're always beautiful, inside and out."

"You know, you don't have to suck up like that. I already agreed to marry you," I joke, but it does make me smile. It doesn't matter how many years go by, whenever Teej says stuff like that, I feel like I'm fifteen again and hearing him say that he loves me for the first time, my heart probably bruising my inner chest cavity with how hard it's thumping.

We exchange one final I love you before we hang up and I give my phone back to Gretchen. She sticks it in her bag and that's when everyone starts moving. There's a lot of shouting – _Someone take her bouquet! Where's that bag of touch-up the lady left us? Does someone have our room key?_ Vince actually turns out to be a helpful addition to the group because, with her hands full with both our bouquets and her bag for our things, Gretchen can't help with my train, so Vince does. Even though the other three insist they can help, it's nice having Vince there to steady me. He is the one that taught me how to wear heels after all. The elevator is large enough to fit all six of us. We leave the florist in the room with my mother sorting out boutonnieres. She gives me a teary hug goodbye, but she'll see me again in like twenty minutes so I just roll my eyes at her and she laughs.

As the elevator opens, we walk out in a flurry of chiffon and craziness. My bridal party heads out ahead of me, excitedly talking about riding in a limo, while Vince walks slower with me, the both of us attempting to get me and my dress successfully to the church without any sort of tragic accident. As we walk through the lobby, there's a little girl in a bathing suit walking back from the pool. She stops mid-step and drops her mouth, her mother holding her back so she doesn't get in our way.

But I can hear her as she asks her mother, "Is that a princess, Mommy?"

"No, she's a bride, honey," her mother says. "She's getting married."

I've never been one of those girls to dream about my wedding gown, so it's not what the little girl says that gets to me. It's more what her mother says. I know I'm getting married. I've known I was getting married this whole weekend, this whole year. I've heard some variant of those words come out of nearly everyone's mouth since the day TJ proposed to me, and even before that as well. But, to hear from a stranger, someone who doesn't know me or TJ or our story...it finally sinks in.

Today I am marrying TJ Detweiler and it is the happiest day of my life.

...

 _Notes_

 _Episode references include:_ My Funny Valentines _(season 3, episode 12) and_ The Beauty Contest _(season 2, episode 23).  
_ _-TJ's joke card featured skulls for the dots on the each I in Spinelli during_ My Funny Valentines _. It's my headcanon that, as she states, it becomes an inside joke to the two of them over the years. I have a Valentine's Day fic written for release on 2/14 that will show their first Valentine's Day together and the skulls will resurface.  
-Vince is shown teaching her how to walk in heels for the pageant the Ashleys sign her up for in _The Beauty Contest _._

 _Up next, we'll see TJ "freaking out" as Vince alluded to above. Thanks for reading!_


	3. Pre-Ceremony: The Groom

_This takes place concurrent to the events in the previous chapter. Enjoy!_

 _..._

Pre-Ceremony

 _Groom_

"You weren't supposed to come fully dressed!"

Gus and Mikey look between each other. They're already in their suits, dressed head-to-toe in their wedding attire, and it's a little after ten. The wedding is five hours away and they're already dressed. That's just asking for someone to spill something on them.

My outburst is most definitely uncalled for but I didn't get any sleep last night. When we got back to the room after saying goodnight to the girls, Vince wanted to force feed me Tylenol PM, but I was afraid I'd be groggy, so instead we put on _The Office_ on the hotel's Netflix, hoping that would relax me. It didn't. So, Vince did the only thing he could think to put my nerves at ease and we took shots until we both had enough of a buzz to think purchasing six hundred dollars worth of plane tickets for me and Spin to visit Boston for New Year's was a good idea. Gretchen has lived there since college and Vince just moved north to start medical school this fall, plus Mikey is in New York City so they're all relatively close – at the time we thought it sounded great. In the daylight, I see that I've just added onto the debt we're creating with this wedding and my school and her loans.

The girls don't need to know about this yet. We decided this would be a surprise present for them.

"Go change before Groomzilla has a heart attack," Vince says from where he's sitting on the bed with my other groomsman, my college roommate Matt, playing a video game. He doesn't even look up.

"We're not putting anything on until after we've eaten," I tell Mikey and Gus, hoping they'lll understand.

"I think you need a drink, dude," I hear Matt say from beside Vince. I glare at the two of them, focused on the game, not looking away from the screen.

Gus and Mikey, thankfully, listen and a few minutes later come back in wearing their sweats. I take a few deep breaths and Mikey sits beside me, putting an arm over my shoulder. He doesn't say anything, he just breathes with me.

"You know, it doesn't have to go off without a hitch to be perfect," Mikey says after I've calmed down.

But I've never thought that way. I want it to be perfect. Just like every other plan I've ever made, I want it to be flawless start to finish. Spin can go with the flow. When we were planning, she was never super attached to most of the material wedding items. Our parents were helping us with the local venues and vendors, calling or texting us with photographs and details. When our parents asked about lighting over FaceTime, she shrugged. When our parents asked about types of chairs during a phone call, she laughed. When our parents asked about centerpieces, she just didn't answer the text thread. Four things mattered to her: the dress (which came as a shock to both of us how emotional she got over it), the food, the guest list, and the music – for everything else I was the decision maker of the two of us.

I want this wedding to be perfect because I want our marriage to be perfect and I know that makes zero sense. But, when I tell that to Mikey, a big crash exploding on the video game behind us, he gives me a warm smile.

"You and Spinelli will have a wonderful marriage, but it won't be because you have a flawless wedding, TJ. It'll be because you have each other."

I know he's right, but I can't make my mind stop.

Vince and Gretchen have the day all coordinated, so when I'm out and about in the hotel, Spin isn't. We eat a big brunch, hang out for a while, and then come back to start getting ready in the other groomsmen room. This is it. Time to start what the girls started hours ago. I hope that actually getting ready instead of sitting around while we wait will help my nerves.

And it does. For a minute. Until we can't find Vince's tie.

"Where could it possibly be?" I moan as we search the suit bag one more time. My hands are in my hair, messing up what I just did to it. But I don't have my hat and I don't know what else to fiddle with and I can't leave my hands idle. "It couldn't go far. It's not like it has feet!"

Vince turns around and throws his arms up. "Calm the fuck down, TJ. It's a plain navy tie. If we can't find it, I'll have Chad bring one."

The other three seem to sense my increasing anxiety and the frustration that Vince is trying, and failing, to keep from intensifying. I'm not sure if he's mad at me for overreacting, or himself for losing the tie in the first place, or a little of both, but it's not helping the situation to have both of us two seconds away from flying off the handle. It's easy to contain the groom; it's harder to contain both the groom and the best man. Luckily, Gus and Mikey have been doing just that since Third Street.

"Yeah, Teej, it's not like it has any sort of special pattern or sheen," Gus adds.

My college roommate catches onto Gus's train of thought. "At least it's not the pants," Matt says. "Or _your_ tie."

"Besides," Mikey says, putting his arm around my shoulder. "Even if it does stand out that it's not the exact same tie, if it's only Vince, it will look like it was done on purpose to separate the best man from the groomsmen."

"I should have bought an extra tie. I should have thought of this," I mumble.

Mikey guides me to one of the beds and makes me sit down. He puts his hands on my shoulders and guides my breathing, in and out, in and out, in and out. After a moment, I feel a little more calm.

"Are you okay now?" he asks.

I run my hands over my face and lets out one more deep breath. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. It's just a tie."

Vince and Matt decide to take a quick look through our room, to see if it fell out at some point yesterday despite the fact that Vince is convinced he didn't open the suit bag. While they take off across the hall, Gus sits next to me and nudges my arm, jokingly. "You're not getting cold feet, are you?"

"No." I don't even think before I say the word. This anxiety has nothing to do with actually marrying Spin. "I just don't want anything to go wrong. I guess I'm a little nervous."

"You don't have anything to be nervous about," Mikey states.

"I know, but..."

I don't have a good comeback. Because I _don't_ have anything to be nervous about – marrying Spin isn't about the wedding. I know that. I _know_ that. But, once I get a plan in my head, I just can't shut it off, no matter how much I want to – it's one of my flaws and I've been working on it with varying levels of success. Today, I haven't been very successful, clearly.

Gus pulls out his phone and clicks a few buttons before handing it to me. I see he's pulled up Facebook and I raise an eyebrow.

"Just read the caption and then read the comments, maybe that will ease your nerves," he says.

It's a cross-post from Gretchen's instagram account, posted at about eight this morning. Gus has already 'loved' it and so has about a hundred other people. Above the post, the feed says: _**Gretchen Grundler**_ _posted a photo on_ _ **Instagram**_ _– with_ _ **Ashley Spinelli**_ _and_ _ **TJ Detweiler**_ _in_ _ **Bentonville, Arkansas**_.

She has uploaded a collage of three pictures. The one in the middle is of her and Spin, from when they still lived together. Gretchen's leaning down so they're at the same height as they smile at the camera. This is one of Spin's favorite pictures of the two of them. Then she added two smaller pictures – one of the three of us from when I came up to help Spin pack for DC and one from what must be kindergarten – no, first grade, we don't have any war paint. Oh man, it's been a long time since I've seen a picture of us that young. Gretch towers over the two of us, Spin and I are the same height, and it must be from school picture day because I'm sans hat, Spin has a dirt clod in one of her pigtails, and Gretchen's glasses are skewed, despite us being dressed in what looks like very nice clothes. I might be biased, but we were pretty cute first graders.

I look down at the caption: _I am so excited to be this girl's MOH today! The biggest congratulations go to two of my best friends on their wedding day. I love you both! #detwedding_

Vince was so proud of himself for that hashtag – especially after Spin vetoed his other suggestion: #SpinsNoSpinster. I shake my head and scroll through some of the comments. Gretchen has obviously made this a public post, or at least one that people who aren't friends with her can see and respond to because I can see half of Spin's extended family has put some sort of comment on it. But, there are comments from people I haven't even thought of in years. Menlo wishes us congratulations. Randall says the same. Butch even commented, saying that this was a long time coming – and Vince liked the comment, of course. I shake my head at that. King Bob – _King Bob_ – commented on it and I haven't seen him since sophomore year of high school, writing, "Move over Will and Kate, this royal wedding will be better than yours – congrats guys!"

And the comments just keep going. So many congratulations. Ashley Quinlan of all people liked this post – and maybe it's just a courtesy like, because I don't know if she ever grew out of her hatred for Spin like the other Ashleys did, but still. There are so many people out there sending their love today and it brings me back down to reality for a minute. This day is about Spinelli and me, the tugging my heart feels is evidence of that, and the reason why people are congratulating us isn't because everyone has a matching tie or which chairs we ultimately chose for the reception.

I hand Gus back his phone. "Thanks."

"You better?" he asks.

"Well, if you consider the fact that I feel like I could cry any second better, than yes," I tease.

Mikey shrugs. "I always feel like that – happy moments make me cry all the time."

Gus nods in agreement. I don't know how they handle all this emotion all the time. I press my palms to my eyes. Fuck, I can't cry now. I haven't even made it to the church yet. I haven't seen Spin yet. Vince is still missing his tie.

The door opens and the other two walk in, tie in the air, victorious.

"Got it!" Vince says. He takes one look at us and shakes his head. "Jeez, you three, I don't know who's gonna cry first."

"Wanna bet?" Gus asks and Vince and Mikey start laughing with him when he says it. They've been betting on me since we were in middle school – _wanna bet on how late TJ'll be?_ Yeah, so unless it's for one of my famous plans I'm usually a little late, big whoop. I like my snooze button. "I feel like I have to say TJ though."

"Nah, one of you two will bust them out on your way down the aisle," Vince says. Then, after he's finished tying his tie around his neck, he reaches into his jacket pocket and gives me a look. "Now, I'm part of a bet so you have to promise you're not going to ruin this for me before I give this to you."

I shake my head at him. "What is it?"

"Your gift from Spin," he says.

He holds out the small notecard. Spin and I decided to give each other something small, a letter or a note, before the wedding since we weren't going to be able to see each other. I take it in my hand, opening it to see what's inside.

I don't start crying, I just start laughing. She drew a picture of us from fourth grade, after our first kiss, both of us with our tongues out, grimacing. There's a tiny note written underneath – _I lied. It wasn't puke city, but I had a rep to protect back then. Now I can't wait to kiss you and I don't care who knows. I love you. I have always loved you. I will always love you and I can't wait to be your wife. See you at the altar!_

I show the others and they all laugh. What a memory.

"Should I carry some mouthwash with me?" Vince jokes. I remember screaming that I needed mouthwash after that kiss all too well. "Is that part of the best man duties?"

I don't answer him. I just keep rereading what she wrote, hearing her voice in my head.

Before long, it's one thirty and Vince's phone rings – the limo is here to take us over to the church. My heart starts to pound again, this time in excitement. This is it. The limo is planning on taking us over first and then it'll swing back around to get the girls, so we can take photos. There is a little courtyard that the photographer thought would be great for photos so we're doing our separate pictures before the ceremony to save time between that and the reception. We're going first. I thought that would make the most sense, since we can get our photos done and then the groomsmen can take their places as the ushers before guests start arriving. Spin and her bridesmaids will take their pictures after us. Once they're finished, they'll head to the Sunday School room to wait for the ceremony to start. But, I pause as everyone goes to grab their jackets. Maybe we should have the girls go first, that way they can go down into their little suite and lower the chance of the two of us coming face to face.

Because, believe me, if I see Spin before the doors open, Vince is gonna lose the bet for sure. I'm a bundle of nerves, a ticking-time bomb of emotion. I'm barely holding it together as it is.

"Hey, Vince," I say. He looks up from his phone. "Will you see if the girls are ready? And, if they are, have them head over first." He nods and, with my reasoning in his head, he walks out of the room and down the hall.

I take a few deep breaths. This is it. In less than two hours, the wedding will start. In three hours we'll be married. It sounds like such a short amount of time, but it also sounds like it's forever away. I'm grinning like a mad man. My eyes sting with tears ready to flow any second. I've never been more overwhelmed with so much happiness.

In three hours, Spin is going to be my wife. I'm going to be her husband. We are going to be married. Even if my nerves are shot right now, I couldn't stop smiling if I tried.

...

 _Notes_

 _The episode with the kiss is_ The Experiment _(season 1 episode 3)._

The Office (US) _originally aired from 2005 to 2013. The entire series is currently on Netflix and a popular show with TJ and Vince's age group._

 _Up next, the actual ceremony. Thanks for reading!_


	4. The Ceremony

_*This chapter will include religious language in reference to Catholicism and the Catholic marriage ceremony._

 _I have tried to include only what I feel is necessary to the story and to the telling of the actual marriage ceremony. T_ _hank you._

 _..._

The Ceremony

The day-of coordinator sticks her head in the doorway just as we're getting ready to take a bride and bridesmaids selfie with a selfie stick we found just lying around the Sunday School room. I think they must leave it there for weddings. Or maybe there was a wedding here before ours and they left it behind. Regardless, we decided to use it.

We snap the picture and she smiles. "It's almost time," she says.

My heart thumps in my chest.

The coordinator instructs everyone to do whatever they need to do – anyone who needs to use the bathroom, or take their heels off for two seconds, or adjust any last minute hair situations and she'll be back in a few minutes, once she grabs my parents and the groomsmen.

Gretchen straightens out my veil as we leave the room, coming to a stop in the hallway where the coordinator told us to stop. It was designated our safe zone, with sign keeping people from going down the hall.

"Do you need anything?" she asks.

I shake my head. "I just need this to start."

She laughs.

The coordinator comes back and we walk out to the main entrance of the church. The doors are shut, everyone seated, waiting for the show to begin. Right in front of the doors, I see my parents standing with the three groomsmen who will walk the bridesmaids down the aisle. Gus and Mikey look like they're going to start freaking crying and I have to roll my eyes. Of course they are – I should have known.

"Oh, my dear Spinelli," Mikey says, his voice wispy, as Gretchen and I approach, the two of us dragging behind. My dress is heavier than I thought and the veil trails behind me. It's my grandmother's veil, the same one my mom wore, and it's probably as long as the aisle itself.

Gus continues for him, "You look so...so beautiful!"

They each look at me as if I'm some porcelain doll and I cross my arms, shaking my head at their behavior.

"You two are ridiculous," I mutter.

The coordinator lines everyone up in their pairs, then situates Gretchen behind the final bridesmaid and groomsman, which leaves me and my parents at the end. My mom is crying again and my dad is beaming.

The organ begins to play and I close my eyes, taking a few deep breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth. I'm carefully hidden so anyone looking at the door can't see, but I can see as the coordinator instructs each pair to begin walking. I focus on that instead of my beating heart. The first pair walks out and, even though I can't see once they enter the church, I know that once they've passed the holy water font and have gotten a few pews down the aisle, she instructs the next pair. They go and maybe twenty or thirty seconds later, she sends the next pair out. Gretchen walks alone at the end, Vince already up at the altar with TJ, and once she's through, the doors close and the coordinator motions for us to get in position.

The wedding party entrance song continues through to the end and then there is a tiny pause while organist changes the sheet music. I stare at the doors, willing them to open.

"You ready, Princess?" my dad asks as the organ begins to play again.

I nod. I've never been more ready for anything in my life.

As planned, the first twenty seconds or so of _Canon in D Major_ plays while the doors remain shut and once the major melody starts the two church boys tasked with opening the doors do their job.

When I was little, I never put on my mom's heels and a fancy play-dress, having arranged my stuffed animals around as guests, and pretended to get married to some faceless, nameless boy. I just wasn't that kid. It wasn't until I was older that I started to actually think about the day that I would get married and my reputation was too important to me to ever say it aloud. I never would have told anyone when I was in elementary school, or even middle and high school for that matter, that I used to dream about the day the doors would open and I'd meet TJ at the end of the aisle. It was always him and now it's not a dream. It's my reality.

In my dreams, the aisle wasn't quite so long.

My face feels like it's splitting in half when I see TJ. I probably look like a kid in a candy store. But I'm not alone. TJ's face goes from nervous wreck to ecstatic only a few seconds. He's bouncing on his feet, doesn't know what to do with his hands – either to put them in front of his face or clap them or back to his face. Vince shakes his shoulders as TJ lets out a breath, finally still. Then, as suddenly as he looked like he was holding it together, he isn't anymore. He just breaks down, his hand over his mouth, crouching as he gets a hold of himself so he can stand, a little calmer, when we finally make it to him.

It seems to take a small eternity before my parents and I reach the altar. They each give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek, then do the same to TJ, before finally my dad puts my hand in my fiancé's. My almost-husband.

TJ can't help himself. He kisses my cheek and the congregation laughs behind us at the kiss-before-the-kiss. I reach up and wipe the tears off his cheeks before we turn to face Father Lawrence.

We follow a traditional Catholic Mass ceremony format for the most part. After Father Lawrence greets the assembly and we sing the Gloria, he invites our guests to pray for us. The response, "Amen," echoes through the church. Then Father Lawrence instructs us all to be seated for the liturgy of the word. The bridesmaids and groomsmen take the first pew on either side of the aisle, while TJ and I have chairs just to the left of the altar. Gretchen helps me with my dress while TJ holds my hand so I don't trip up the two steps that lead to our chairs. Then I pass my bouquet to Gretchen and turn to see Gus standing at the podium for the first reading.

"A reading from the Song of Songs. _Hark! my lover_ – _here he comes_ ," he starts, continuing rather gracefully through the reading. He finishes up and then smiles. "The Word of the Lord."

The congregation responds and he steps down, bowing before retaking his seat between Vince and Mikey. It worked out that Gus is the only one of our Third Street friends who is also Catholic because doing the reading gave him something special to do as well, so they could each be part of it. Vince and Gretchen as best man and maid of honor. Mikey is singing the song for our first dance along with one of my bridesmaids. And Gus did a reading. That worked out pretty perfectly.

My aunt and godmother goes up to do the responsorial psalm and then Joey goes up for the second reading, a reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians. It may be cliché to use the reading that includes the famous "love is patient, love is kind" but TJ and I have been a cliché from the beginning and this was the choice we liked the best. Throughout the whole time, TJ has not let go of my hand and I haven't taken my eyes off him.

After Joey finishes and the audience responds, we have to stand again for the Gospel. So, TJ and I have to head back down from our chairs. We stand without letting go of each other's hand, and TJ uses his other to help me balance, placing it on my back as he guides me and my dress down to where the two of us need to stand. Gretchen juts out into the aisle as soon as we're situated and fixes my train so it's straight. After the Gospel though, we have to sit again and I roll my eyes when Father Lawrence tells the assembly to take our seats and he smiles at me. He caught me rolling my eyes and I wonder if it's going to make it into his sermon as a last minute addendum.

TJ helps me sit and out of habit kisses the top of my head before he takes his own seat. I smile and take his hand. Once we're both seated and paying attention, Father Lawrence starts his homily by addressing the crowd.

"What a gentleman," he says, gesturing to TJ. The audience gives some nods, but they don't want to make too much noise, not sure yet what the tone of the homily will be. The priest continues. "Though, I think I need to remind him that we haven't gotten to the kissing part yet."

That gets the crowd going and shows everyone that this isn't going to be a stiff and stodgy homily. Father Lawrence knows my family well, knows that despite our deep connection to Catholicism we're also good for a joke. Plus, no one on TJ's side is Catholic, but we know they'll appreciate some humor thrown in there. Father Lawrence is good for that.

His introduces himself to crowd, giving a short history of how he knows my grandparents and how he's been friends with them since he started in this church as a young priest. Father Lawrence also married my parents, as well as the majority of my aunts and uncles on both sides. He baptized me, Joey, and almost all of our cousins. He also gave the last rites to my grandfather three years ago, so to say he's been there for my family through good times and bad is an understatement. The man is practically a member of the Funicello and Spinelli families himself. Once we knew we were getting married in a Catholic church, it really wasn't a question who would marry TJ and me.

And, apparently, he feels the same way, ending his explanation of how he knows my family, how he's known us so long he can't remember the first time meeting me, and how he was part of all my church milestones with, "It's a true blessing for me to be here today to see her into the Sacrament of Marriage."

He gives me a small smile and then turns back to the pews.

"Now, TJ, on the other hand, I do remember the exact day I met him," he says. "I'd already heard all about him–" he turns to where TJ's parents are sitting and where the majority of his family is "–if you haven't noticed yet, that side over there isn't exactly keen on keeping quiet."

I've never agreed with the man more. My family is a bunch of loud mouths. TJ chuckles next to me.

"But, anyway, I'd heard all sorts of stories about him from Aggie and Dave, Maria and her late husband Mauro, Bob and Flo, Ashley herself. They all spoke the world of this kid and so when Flo told me he was coming to Mass with them while Ashley was home from school I thought, 'great, I'm going to finally be able to meet the boy that stole not only Ashley's heart but the heart of pretty much half my parish.'" He lets the audience get a little chuckle in at the joke about my family's size. "And, based on the stories, I was expecting to see the kid we're seeing today – very charismatic and confident."

TJ's blushing next to me and I know where this story is going, but the majority of our guests don't.

"So, they get in my line for Communion and TJ's right behind Ashley because he could still get a blessing even though at the time he wasn't Catholic, and I'm excited to finally put a face to a name. They finally make it up to me, I send Ashley along and I finally am face-to-face with TJ Detweiler, the kid I've heard all about for years at this point – and he's pale as a sheet."

I start laughing. I can't help it. I remember it so vividly. I told TJ exactly what he needed to do, how he needed to cross his arms to signal he needed a blessing not the wafer and that, even if he didn't, if we were in Father Lawrence's line it wouldn't matter because he knew all about it. And I turned around while I got in line to drink the wine and saw TJ looking so baffled, flapping his hands like crazy because he forgot what to do, too focused on trying to impress my extended family. It just ended up being a hilarious story we tell at family functions. My cousin jokingly calls it the day TJ's charisma died.

"So, I give him a blessing, and I'm really praying for this kid, like, 'Please, let this poor kid calm down or that family is going to eat him alive.'"

Everyone is in hysterics now – TJ's family, my family, our whole wedding party – because the story is so vivid it's hard not to imagine twenty-year-old TJ with his plan to be suave and impressive failing on him. And Father Lawrence says it so good-naturedly that it barely even sounds like a roast. I honestly think Vince is going to fall out of the pew.

"But, I chose to start with that story not to embarrass TJ, but really to give some context to what happens next," Father Lawrence continues. "I go to greet the parishioners after Mass and I get the chance to actually talk to TJ. And I find that, once he wasn't in the Communion line and we were talking about the Cardinals' starting line up, he had just as much charisma as I was expecting. And, as we were getting ready to say our goodbyes, he pulled me aside and asked if he could come talk to me privately, away from Ashley, and I told him to call my office Monday morning and we'd get something on the schedule. Kid called at nine o'clock Monday morning."

He proceeds to tell the audience the story about how TJ came to him that week. That summer had been one of the first times we had actually talked about getting married to each other as an impending event rather than just a dream. I mean, we'd been saying sweet nothings to each other about getting married since we were sixteen, but it was the beginning of our junior year of college that we started seriously planning a timeline for our future together – when we wanted to be engaged by, how long we wanted the engagement to last, how long into our marriage did we want to wait before we had kids.

"So, TJ comes in and sits across from me and tells me that he wants to marry Ashley one day," Father Lawrence says. "And he also says that he knows how important Catholicism is to her and her family and that he knows in order to get married in this church, she needed to marry a Catholic man, and he wanted to know how to go about doing that. So I told him to think about it, pray on it, and if he felt like becoming a Catholic was the right decision for him after that, to come talk to me again.

"No more than maybe twenty minutes later, Ashley comes storming into my office."

The imagery he uses to describe us is really top notch. Everyone is laughing again.

"And now she's sitting across from me and I don't really have much of a warning with her like I did with TJ, so I just ask what's bothering her and she proceeds to tell me that she wants to marry TJ and that in order to get married by me in this church she has to marry a Catholic man and that she's very sorry and she'll do confession but she isn't going to make TJ convert to marry her if that isn't something he wants to do and that, by even bringing it up to him at all, she's afraid that he'll be swayed into doing it," he continues. "Now, I'm sitting there trying to determine whether to tell each of them what's going on or to let it play out. Well, I let it play out. About a month later, TJ comes back to my office, sits in front of me, and asks about the conversion classes.

"And, I tell this story, not because it's the story of how we got here to this specific church wedding today, but because I think this story is a prime example of how much these two love each other, in that they were both willing to go completely out of their comfort zones and do things that seemed to conflict with their own individual upbringings to come together. Love is so much more than a feeling or an emotion; it's not fleeting like those, but instead it's a commitment and a sacrifice we make for the others in our lives. And, in that story, those two showed exactly that."

He goes on to connect it back to the readings we've heard, but I'm not paying too much attention as he ends. Instead, I'm rubbing my thumb back and forth on TJ's left ring finger because after Father Lawrence finishes his homily, this is it. The Celebration of Matrimony is next. We'll give our intentions to marry each other and then recite the vows and exchange the rings. He nudges my shoulder to let me know he's thinking the same thing.

He finishes his homily and everyone stands. TJ helps me down to my spot and then takes up his own and I can't look anywhere but his eyes. I mouth the words, "I love you," and he mouths back that he loves me too. Then we turn and face the priest.

"Dearly beloved, you have come together into..." Father Lawrence starts. I squeeze TJ's hand in my own as he continues, too excited to really listen. "...And so, in the presence of the Church, I ask you to state your intentions."

He pauses for a moment and then continues.

"Ashley and Theodore, have you come here to enter into Marriage without coercion, freely, and wholeheartedly?"

"I have," we say in unison.

"And are you prepared, as you follow the path of Marriage, to love and honor each other for as long as you both shall live?"

We both nod. "I am."

"Are you prepared to accept children lovingly from God and to bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?"

I smile at the thought of our kids and he squeezes my hand. "I am."

Father Lawrence grins and continues. "Since it is your intention to enter into the covenant of Holy Matrimony, face each other, join your right hands, and declare your consent before God and his Church."

He turns to TJ. "TJ, we'll start with you. Repeat after me. I, Theodore Detweiler, take you, Ashley Spinelli, to be my wife."

TJ blows out a breath quickly before he speaks, but his voice is still a little shaky. "I, Theodore Detweiler, take you, Ashley Spinelli, to be my wife."

"I promise to be faithful to you, in good times and in bad."

He squeezes my hand and smiles. "I promise to be faithful to you, in good times and in bad."

"In sickness and in health."

"In sickness and in health," he repeats, his voice less shaky as he continues.

"To love you and to honor you all the days of my life."

TJ takes his free hand and wipes his eyes. "To love you and to honor you all the days of my life."

Father Lawrence turns to me then. "Next."

The assembly laughs. I'm glad Father Lawrence is making this a little bit lighter than a typical ceremony. Definitely takes the pressure off.

"Repeat after me. I, Ashley Spinelli, take you, Theodore Detweiler, to be my husband."

I nod and repeat it. "I, Ashley Spinelli, take you, Theodore Detweiler, to be my husband."

"I promise to be faithful to you, in good times and in bad."

I must look crazy – smiling widely while my voice shakes like I'm standing in a blizzard with no coat on.

"I promise to be faithful to you, in good times and in bad."

"In sickness and in health," Father Lawrence prompts.

I have to swallow the lump in my throat before I can continue. "In sickness and in health."

"To love you and to honor you all the days of my life."

Oh, man, I didn't think I was going to actually cry but here I go. "To love you and to honor you all the days of my life."

Father Lawrence receives our consent and says a prayer over it. TJ just keeps smiling at me and I don't look away, even as the rings come out for the priest to bless. He sprinkles our rings with holy water and then motions for TJ to take mine. My engagement ring is on my right hand, so when TJ is told to place the ring on my left hand and hold it there, there's nothing in the way.

"Take the ring, place it on her left ring finger, hold it there, and repeat after me," Father Lawrence prompts. TJ does that and waits for him to continue. "Ashley, receive this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

"Ashley."

TJ never calls me Ashley only – if he calls me Ashley it tends to be in some big romantic setting where he uses my full name, or at least first and last. I also don't let him call me just Ashley to my face. Despite the fact that I do go by Ashley more than I don't now, coming from him it just doesn't sound right. So, when he's prompted to just use Ashley and the name passes his lips, he can't help it. He gives a little snort and then winks at me and I roll my eyes. Then he gets serious again.

"Receive this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

And then he lets go.

I only have enough time to admire my new ring for a moment. I mean, I knew what it looked like, but actually seeing it on my hand, where TJ put it as he spoke his vows, it's unlike anything else. I never could have imagined it while we were buying them or even while we were trying them on to make sure they fit right after they were sized.

Father Lawrence clears his throat and it pulls me out of my thoughts. A little bit of laughter accompanies me as I reach for TJ's ring on the platter.

"Take the ring, place it on his left ring finger, hold it there, and repeat after me," Father Lawrence says. I do it and smile at TJ. "Theodore, receive this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

"Theodore."

And just like TJ I'm unable to say it without it coming out sounding terrible, almost like I'm kidding. In the twenty years we've known each other, I don't think I've ever actually just called him Theodore except today. Occasionally when I'm being facetious I'll say his full name in a sing-song manner. I'll walk around the apartment going, "oh, Theodore Jasper," drawing out the syllables as I sing it, or I'll tease him with it when he jokes with me about Ashley. But Theodore, especially Theodore on its own, is never said seriously.

Not like now.

That brings me back. "Receive this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

When I drop his hand, TJ immediately starts touching his ring. I didn't think I could smile broader, but I do.

After, the Prayer of the Faithful begins and, when that ends, we're sent to sit again while Father Lawrence prepares the gifts for Communion. The gift bearers come up help out. We specifically asked Father Lawrence to do Communion for our wedding party, so he gives us the first Communion and then moves on to individually bless or give Communion to each of our bridesmaids and groomsmen. It's a little out of the ordinary, but the majority of our friends aren't Catholic and we didn't want them being confused – TJ knew how that felt first hand. Father Lawrence then has us step back in front and prays over us, giving us a final blessing before the wedding is over. There's technically no kiss in a traditional Catholic wedding, but that hasn't stopped any Catholic I know from having one. Father Lawrence was happy to oblige our more secular demand and gave us the choice to have our kiss after the rings or at the very end.

He finishes his nuptial blessing and then addresses the church.

"Now, these two have been together a long time, nearly ten years since they started dating, and that shows a strong commitment, but today they've shown true commitment to each other through the Sacrament of Marriage. And it is my honor to pronounce you husband and wife," he says. Then, jokingly, he adds, "TJ, _this_ is the kissing part."

We both laugh for a moment before leaning into each other. We've been together for almost ten years now and we've probably kissed a million times, but this one is different. Not in the way it feels, but in what it means. When we pull apart, I rest my head on TJ's chest for a brief second while I get my bearings so I can walk down back down the aisle without falling over myself.

Once I'm ready, I take my husband's hand, my bouquet back from Gretchen, and get ready to walk into the rest of our lives.

...

 _Notes_

 _The actual text from the wedding ceremony, including the vows and the intentions, was taken from the English translation of_ The Order of Celebrating Matrimony (2013) _, as I did not trust myself to correctly recite the proper wording from memory._

 _Despite the fact that_ Recess _itself didn't delve into religion, I don't believe it's OOC to assume Spinelli, as an Italian-American, is Catholic. There are also two episodes in the series that have underlying meanings tied to religion,_ Swing on Thru to the Other Side _(season 1 episode 26) and_ Good Luck Charm _(Season 4 episode 19). In both of these episodes, Spinelli is the central character. It can be left to your interpretation how devout or not Spinelli is herself, but regardless I don't think it would be crazy for her and her family to want a Catholic wedding._

 _My personal headcanon for the Detweilers, based on observations from_ Yes, Mikey, There is a Santa Claus _(season 2, episode 17), is that they're not religious and I discuss this in my oneshot_ The Santa Claus _in a little more detail if anyone is curious._

 _I took creative license with Gus._

 _TJ returns to narrate the final chapter, The Reception. Thanks for reading!_


	5. The Reception

The Reception

Voices carry out from the reception hall into the hallway as the ten of us walk toward the doors. The coordinator stops us just before the open entryway, keeping us out of sight, and goes to alert the DJ that we're here. I take a look out at all our friends. We're a little later to the reception than we thought we'd be, but I don't mind. Vince thought he'd have to tranquilize me when I saw the time, but now that the actual ceremony part is over, I find that I'm a lot calmer.

Which helped when the limo hit a pothole and Gus spilled champagne all over his leg on our way to the reception hall from our pictures.

We had him take them off so we could place them under the hand dryer in the bathroom right when we arrived and used three of the Tide-to-Go pens in the process of fixing the mess. Other than that, we all made it here in one piece and Gretchen has Spin's dress all bustled correctly after a few minutes where we weren't sure what we were doing. But, to be honest, now just winging it is fine. I touch the ring on my finger. The most important part is over.

I can hear the DJ through the door.

"Now, it's time to welcome back some important people – what do you say? Should we get the wedding party back in here?"

There's a few cheers and I take a moment to look at our friends.

"Guys, thanks so much for everything. We couldn't have done it without you all," I say.

And then they welcome us into the space.

The groomsmen and bridesmaids go first in pairs, then Vince and Gretchen, leaving Spin and me behind the door, alone for what feels like the first time in years. I can't help take her in my arms, pulling her close to me.

"Hi, husband," she says, and I can feel her smile against me.

I pull back enough to kiss her. "Hi, wife."

"Now, if you could all stand to your feet and, for the first time, please help me welcome Mr. and Mrs. Theodore and Ashley Detweiler!"

I don't think I will ever get sick of hearing that.

We decided that it made the most sense to just go straight into our first dance from the entrance, so while everyone is still standing, the DJ announces that this is the moment everyone should have their iPhones ready for – causing our guests to both laugh and start digging in their bags and pockets. Our wedding party stands at the head table in front of the dance floor, except for Mikey and Spin's college roommate, Lauren, who are going to be singing the song. She was part of an a cappella group for the four years they were in college together and obviously Mikey can carry a good tune. In fact, he told me a few weeks ago that one of his friends on Broadway even created the background music that the two will be singing to tonight rather than just the karaoke version you can find on YouTube. He sent the music file to me and Spin while we were still in DC and I'm so impressed by how much work and effort went into this for us. Our best friends are truly the best anyone could have.

The music starts to play and Mikey begins.

"I found a love for me  
Darling, just dive right in and follow my lead  
Well, I found a girl, beautiful and sweet  
I never knew you were that someone waiting for me  
'Cause we were just kids when we fell in love  
Not knowing what it was  
I will not give you up this time  
But, darling, just kiss me slow, your heart is all I own  
And in your eyes you're holding mine."

We decided a long time ago that we weren't going to do a practiced dance. I smile at the memory. When Becky got married a few years ago, the two of us were sitting at the table watching and giggling with each other as the two of them did some fancy choreographed number. My mother gave us the dirtiest look and literally leaned across the table and flicked my arm like she would when I was five.

"You are twenty-one, act like it," she had said. But I think even she knew how ridiculous it looked.

"What are you thinking?" Spin asks me.

"Remember when Becky had her first dance?" She dies, her face burying itself into my chest, her body shaking with giggles. "Remember how much trouble we got in?"

"I've never seen your mom mad except in that moment," she says when she finally looks up. "But, we've always been troublemakers, what did they expect?"

I give her a little spin. "Maybe we should have done a choreographed dance – one uped Becky one last time?" I joke.

She shakes her head. "No, I'll take our middle school sway over that any day."

Mikey stops singing at the end of the chorus, but Lauren keeps going. They changed the words slightly from the original to match a girl point of view and Spin mouths the words as we sway.

"Well, I found a man, stronger than anyone I know  
He shares my dreams, I hope that someday we'll share a home  
I found a love, to carry more than just my secrets  
To carry love, to carry children of our own."

This is what the first dance is supposed to be, in my opinion. A chance for the two of us to have a little peace, a little moment together, before we're again whisked into the fanfare of the reception.

"I've never been happier than right now," I tell her as the chorus starts again. "Except for maybe when you finally said you liked me back, like twenty minutes after I said it."

She giggles and rolls her eyes. "You just blurted it out, what was I supposed to do? I wasn't expecting it."

She's right. I had all these big plans. It was Christmas Eve, we were sophomores in high school, and for our group's Secret Santa I drew her name. Vince told me to get her mistletoe, but I didn't like that idea. I didn't want to put her on the spot in front of our entire group if he was wrong and she didn't actually like me back. So, I bought her some colored pencils for the actual gift that I knew she'd like and decided that I'd go to her house a little early and walk her over to Muddy Bottom Pond before we went to Third Street to exchange, and tell her there. I did have a piece of mistletoe in my pocket that I would pull out if she said she did like me, and then we could head over.

Oh, how that plan failed. So spectacularly failed like no plan had ever failed before. First, I was late getting to her house. Then, when she opened the door, already there waiting as soon as I knocked because I was a lot later than I said I'd be, the words came tumbling out. She said, "Hey, Teej, do I need to teach you how to read a clock?" and I said, "I like you, Spin."

And, then, her mom overheard me explain my blurting and, not realizing that Spin hadn't said anything yet and was still staring at me with wide eyes that didn't tell me whether she was happily surprised or trying to figure out how to let me down without it being too awkward, her mom pulled us both into this monster of a bear hug. We spent almost twenty minutes with Spin's mom as she told us how wonderful she thought it was and how happy she was and how cute we were before Spin finally wiggled us away and we could leave out the door. But, as soon as the door shut, Spin leaned up and kissed me, so it was worth it in the end.

I realize that I'm so lucky. So so lucky. Not many people can say they've known the girl they were going to marry since kindergarten. We've had a story that's almost fairytale – neighborhood kids turned best friends then high school sweethearts and now husband and wife. Spin is it for me and she's always been and, although if I told her it to her face she'd roll her eyes, I know she's my soulmate. That even if we didn't grow up three doors down, we'd end up finding each other somewhere, someway, somehow.

"I'm so lucky," I say.

"You're not the only lucky one," she responds.

I give her a twirl.

As Mikey sings, I pull Spin back into me, her back against my chest, so I can whisper the words Mikey sings next in her ear.

"When I saw you in that dress, looking so beautiful  
I don't deserve this, darling, you look perfect tonight."

She turns around to wrap her arms around my neck. "You're my first love and my only love," she says. I smile, recognizing the words I wrote in her card this morning.

"I knew I loved you, but I didn't realize I couldn't live without you until we lived apart for six years. Why did we think that was a good idea?" I say in her ear. She shakes her head, chuckling. We know why we did it, but it didn't mean it was easy. "We're never doing that again."

"We don't have to," she says, smirking.

"Nope. Now, I will wake up to your beautiful brown eyes and your grumpy scowl every day for the rest of my life."

She hits my chest. "Maybe if you didn't press snooze four hundred times."

I lean down and blow a raspberry on her cheek in jest, making her throw her head back, squealing with laughter. When she comes back, I kiss her for real.

As the song's final chorus finishes, all I can do is stare. I just look at her and know that, no matter what happens, as long as we're together this is the best life I could ever have.

We take our spots at the head table between Vince and Gretchen. As we sit, Spin's dad stands from the table our parents, grandparents, and siblings are at and starts to walk toward the podium set up near the head table. Spin blows out a breath next to me and I put an arm over her shoulder. She's convinced her dad is going to make a fool out of her during this welcome speech but Bob Spinelli is a great speechmaker. He's good at warming up a crowd and, while I'm sure there will be an embarrassing story thrown in there because her parents love telling them, it'll be thoughtful.

He taps the microphone and then picks it up out of the stand so he doesn't have to stand behind the podium. He has no script with him, just a single notecard with probably a couple bullet points.

"It's going to be great," I tell Spin.

She glares at me. "My parents' number one goal in life is to embarrass me."

He starts.

"Thank you all for being here. It's just unbelievable how much love there is for these two – we have people who have come from all corners of the country and some that have come from right down the road. I know I speak on behalf of myself and Flo as well as TJ's parents, Sam and Jan, when I say how much we appreciate everyone in this room and how much they love our children."

"See, not bad," I say. She glares at me, clearly not convinced as her dad continues.

"I'd like to start by letting you know that I think I've successfully gotten all my tears out of the way over the last forty-eight hours, but if I do start, please feel free to join me," he says. The crowd laughs and he turns to the head table, gesturing to me. "TJ, you practiced crying at the ceremony, but put a little more oomph into it this time, will you?"

This gets everyone going. I mean, I did have quite the moment when Spin walked through the doors. I toss him a thumbs up and he waves everyone down so he can start the real speech.

"So, last week, I picked Ashley and TJ up from the airport and on the car ride home, we started talking about the toasts. I asked if Vince and Gretchen had finished theirs, TJ asked about mine. We were having a nice chat when Ashley looked at me, point blank, and said, 'Dad, your toast only needs to do three things–" he ticks off his fingers as he talks "–it needs to thank the Detweilers, it needs to talk about TJ, and it can't embarrass me.' I ended up managing two out of the three requirements." He turns to my parents at their table. "Jan, Sam, I'm so sorry to cut you out–"

I laugh and Spin hits my arm.

"But, before I start embarrassing my daughter, Jan, Sam, really, thank you for everything you've done. In case anyone is unaware, our children live in DC and so for this wedding they essentially just showed up." A few snorts and chuckles. "No, they did what they could from the distance and we took responsibility for the rest. I think it would have been overwhelming without all four of us, with Becky and Joey and everyone who helped out to make this day what it is." He turns back to my parents. "Now that we've done this, I feel closer to you guys than I have in the thirty years we've been neighbors and, since we're family now, what do you say we take a vacation next year? Flo and I were thinking Malta."

Spin throws her head in her hands and is muttering, "Oh my God," beside me. I rub her back. It really isn't that bad, but Spin's just so tense he could have the tamest speech and she'd probably freak.

"My daughter is already bright red. This isn't going to end well for you, Pookie, if you're already blushing. I haven't even started talking about you."

He grins at us and blows out a breath. He's starting to get a little emotional now, so I nudge Spin to look up and she does, leaning into me, as her dad starts again, his voice serious for the next bit at least.

"Ashley is our youngest. She's seven years younger than her brother so basically when we had Ashley we were starting over. And, boy, a lot of people were surprised that we were pregnant again, but the truth of the matter is that Ashley was very much wanted. She was a blessing to us, a little miracle baby, a true gift. And, as such, we had all of these dreams and expectations and ideas of what it would be like and it just compounded when we found out we were having a girl. We were so excited – a little girl! We couldn't wait to meet her."

He looks over at us again and smiles.

All parents love their child, but there's something to be said about the way Bob and Flo love Spin. As much as she hates all the attention and the embarrassing stories, they cherish the ground she walks on and I know it's because they didn't think they were ever going to have her. I know the story. They had multiple miscarriages after Joey and even a baby that died right after birth, her brother Vito, and then her mom's pregnancy with her was far from an easy one. So when she was born and she was healthy, I don't think they ever stopped feeling that happiness they felt when they held her for the first time.

"And the way she came into this world is very much the way she lives her life to this day – two words: fast and furious," he says, ticking off his fingers as he says the two words. "Not only was she early, but we barely made it to the hospital. But don't worry, she was fine, her lungs worked great and we knew that because she started screaming the minute she was born and she didn't stop for three months." The crowd laughs and Spin buries her face in my arm. "Medical science will call it colic, but I say she cried so much because she was furious that she couldn't do things on her own. My daughter has been fiercely independent from day one.

"So, you know what they say, sugar and spice and everything nice goes into making a little girl – we might have been a little heavy handed on the spice," he says, causing a little more laughter from everyone.

When his voice pauses and takes a more serious tone again, Spin looks up from my arm.

"But we wouldn't change a single thing about her. The only thing I would change is the way time works because it seems like just yesterday I was holding her in my arms for the first time and today I walked her down the aisle. All I have left of those times are memories and they're some of the best that I have. Watching wrestling together, cheering at her soccer games, sending her off to prom, but also seeing her graduate not once, not twice, but three times and seeing the amazing person she has become. Watching her grow up and mature into the strong, stubborn, passionate, beautiful young woman sitting at the head table today has been the greatest joy of my life. And knowing that my independent little girl has willingly found a partner to share her life with, a man who balances her, who complements her strengths and accepts her weaknesses, and who just genuinely makes her happy is the best feeling as her father."

He and Spin share a look and I think she's finally calmed down. He looks down at his notecard and grins at the audience.

"According to Ashley's requirements, I guess it's time to say a few nice words about TJ."

And the crowd is back to laughing and Spin groans again.

"Both Flo and I come from large families so I've been to my fair share of weddings and I always listened particularly carefully when the father of the bride made his toast because I knew that one day I would be in that position. One thing I noticed was there was often a moment in the speech where the father would talk about how hard it was to give away his daughter and how the groom had to really work at fitting himself into the family – because no one is ever perfect enough for your little girl. And I've already talked at length about Ashley and how wonderful my daughter is, and I agree that it was very difficult today, but that's not because we were giving her away to TJ." He looks at me as he says the next line. "No, putting her hand in TJ's was the easy part."

He turns away and back to the crowd.

"TJ is just an overall great guy. We first started hearing about him all the way back in elementary school and, of course, all we heard were good things. We figured this was a little biased because our daughter very clearly had a crush on this kid so we were only hearing the good, right?" He pauses, shakes his head, and turns to look at the two of us. "I've never been happier to be wrong. He proved that the very first time we formally met him, when we'd embarrassed Ashley to the point where she'd run out of the room, and he came over to talk to us about it – a little nine-year-old with a lot of spunk but a heart of gold who clearly cared about our daughter. In that moment, listening to him talk about her, I could see why she had a crush on him. And every year, he got a little older, a little funnier, a little taller, but he kept that heart as big as it's ever been."

Spin squeezes my hand.

"He tends to be a little late to things, like this reception, but everyone has their flaws and I suppose if you're going to have one..." He shrugs and the crowd chuckles. "But truly, I couldn't have built a better husband for my daughter." He turns to my parents again. "Sam, Jan, you raised a phenomenal kid and I feel absolutely blessed to welcome you all into our family. And the best part of this whole thing is that we live three houses away from each other so we'll never have to fight over holidays."

I think she's finally understood that all these little jokes are meant to keep it lively and shouldn't embarrass her, because Spin finally laughs at one of them. Her dad lets the audience quiet and then begins again.

"Neither of you may remember this, but I'd like to end by bringing us all back to the night of the eighth grade semi-formal dance. Flo and I had watched Ashley get all dressed up, we took pictures, embarrassed her in front of her friends, and we sent her on to the dance. Flo and I had just started to realize that the childhood portion of her life was coming to an end – that before long we were going to be dealing with boys, and dating, and first loves, and first heart breaks, so while she was gone we were trying to prepare ourselves for the fact that she might come home with her first broken heart that night from some goober who didn't want to dance with her.

"But, she came back on cloud nine and she told us about how she and TJ had danced to the only slow song – insisting that it was because everyone was dancing like that and they didn't want to be left out, sure." Our guests laugh. "But as a parent you know when your kid is smitten and when we sent her off to bed, she floated up the stairs. Anyone who has met my daughter even once knows how uncharacteristic _that_ is, so we knew we were either heading toward her first love or a broken heart that night.

"So, later, we were talking about that and her dating and what the future might look like down the road, and I can't remember who said it, Flo or me, but it doesn't matter because we both agreed. We said, you know, best case scenario, she marries someone like TJ Detweiler."

There is a collective awe from our guests and even I have to suck in a breath. I never knew that and, judging from the tears in Spin's eyes, she didn't either. I knew that her parents liked me and I knew that from the moment we started dating they've considered me part of their family, but I figure that was just Bob and Flo Spinelli. Once Spin actually let us be around them for more than five minutes, they treated us all like we were made of gold, not just me. I never knew I was the person they thought would be good for their daughter even before we were dating.

He nods his head to himself, as if he's remembering the night in his head. Then he returns to ending his speech.

"And this was before they were dating, before we knew he even liked her, but we saw in him what we wanted for our daughter – a good head on his shoulders, a big heart, he came from a good family, but more importantly, he treated our daughter with respect and dignity while also knowing how to have fun with her, how make her smile, how to make her laugh. Didn't hurt that he was a cute kid on top of all of that. But, best case scenario for us was for Ashley to marry someone like TJ, and look where we're at – even better than best case because it's not someone _like_ TJ, it's actually him."

I blow out a breath through my teeth. Bob Spinelli, not a dry eye in the house from laughter and sentimentality. He turns to us.

"So, I'd like to give you two just a little advice before I give everyone's ears a break – live in the moment and don't rush. Enjoy your time as newlyweds because, trust me, before you know it you'll be making a toast are your own daughter's wedding. It goes that fast."

Then he walks back to the podium to grab his glass and raises it to the guests.

"So, please, join me in toasting my daughter and my son-in-law. Ashley and TJ, we love you both and wish you only the best. Cheers." Everyone clinks glasses and before he sets the microphone back onto the podium, he says, "Alright, time to chow."

As the head table goes up for food first, Spin and I head to our parents' table. Her dad hasn't even had a chance to sit down before we arrive, but it's better anyway because he just turns around and engulfs her in his arms.

"Hope I didn't embarrass you too much, Pookie," he says.

She rolls her eyes. "You did, but it's okay." Then she pulls away. "Thank you."

"Just save me one last dance," he says, patting her cheek before he holds a hand out to me. "We kept it together. Good job."

"Thank you so much."

We make the rounds after that – our parents first and then just going clockwise as tables begin to be called to go up for food. There is a ton of people here and we want to make sure we thank everyone personally before they go home even though we'll do a collective thank you after the Maid of Honor/Best Man toast. When we make it to our fourth table, we notice Spin's grandmother has ditched her spot with our parents and pulled another chair up, sitting and telling some sort of story to this new table. Even without really looking at who else is there, that clues us in to which table we've arrived.

When we invited Principal Prickly, Ms. Grotke, and Ms. Finster, we weren't sure if they'd come. Spin's grandmother insisted that Finster would come but we really weren't sure – so we sent the invitations out with no expectations and low and behold they're all here and we couldn't be happier. Ms. Grotke really helped Spin when we were in college and she was starting to realize that she wanted to be a teacher, and talking with her is actually what helped her solidify her major change. Prickly, of course, has been my mainstay for advice for what feels like forever.

We wait for Aggie and Finster to finish up their story – something about Guam and hula skirts that has Spin rolling her eyes – before we cut in, catching up and thanking everyone for coming.

"I did notice that you weren't introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Detweiler," Ms. Grotke says as she gives us both a hug. "Right on for equality, you two."

Yes, that was a major decision for us and something we made sure the DJ was well aware of – that we're equals in this marriage and there was going to be none of the traditional bride becomes Mrs. Husband. In fact, I asked Spin if she wanted me to take her last name. She instantaneously said no – her last name is more of her identity than her first name and she rationalized it as me taking Spinelli would be almost like her taking Theodore and dropping Ashley. She also said that our names are way too long to hyphen, so Detweiler we became.

As Spin goes to Finster and her grandmother, I go to Ms. Grotke's left and shake Prickly's hand and thank him for coming.

"So, what's your next plan?" he asks after he congratulates me.

I shrug. "We're in DC for three years while I'm at GW and then we'll see from there, but we both want to move home at some point." I nudge him. "You might be able to hire Spin one day."

He shakes his head with a smile. "I already hired Frank Dudikoff, what's one more former pupil added to my staff," he says.

We continue going around the tables even after everyone's been called for food. That's the thing about weddings – the bride and groom don't really get much to eat. On our way to the other side of the hall, we stop by the head table and Gus gives me a bite off his plate, and Spin steals something quickly that won't cause a giant mess from one of the bridesmaids. We have a meal set aside for us for later that we'll be able to bring back to the hotel, but we still have people to thank before the dancing starts. So, we head back over to keep talking to people.

We're just finishing at the next table when the DJ announces the toasts.

Gretchen and Vince both stand at the podium and Vince motions for her to go first. She smiles and takes the microphone, setting her sheets down in an orderly fashion. I wrap my arms around Spin's waist as we listen. She introduces herself and thanks everyone for coming – very polite, very orderly, very Gretchen.

"As I was researching examples of speeches, I realized just how rare it is to be the maid of honor at a wedding where you consider both the bride and the groom your best friends, so I feel honored to be able to share this with you both," she says to us.

"But, while we've all known each other since kindergarten, there is a natural bond that forms between two girls in a group full of guys – even if one of the girls is more rough and tumble than other one and could hold her weight with the boys any day," she says. "So, needless to say, we didn't spend our afternoons planning for our future weddings or dreaming about our future boyfriends. Or, at least, we didn't until about eighth grade."

I look down at Spin surprised. She shrugs as if she knows what's coming.

"We were sitting on the bus waiting for the boys to come out, it was probably about the time of that semi-formal dance you heard about earlier, and I remember hearing behind me 'why is he so cute?'" The crowd is chuckling but I'm laughing at Gretchen's near perfect imitation of Spin's gravelly voice. "I turned around, thinking I was hearing things, but instead I found my best friend looking out the window, completely oblivious to me or anyone else. I was shocked and I thought – who are you and what have you done with Ashley Spinelli?" More chuckles come from the guests. "Having seen other girls get boyfriends already and seeing them change, I thought for a long time that dating TJ would turn her into this boy-crazed girly girl, but I was wrong. She stayed exactly the same – still loved wrestling, could still beat up someone twice her size if necessary, still kept her wit and sharp sense of humor. Dating TJ just made her happier and a little bit more smiley.

"Over the nearly ten years since they started dating, I've seen their relationship grow and thrive, even when the odds are against them, and I know that this trend will continue into their marriage. So, please, raise your glass and toast the bride and groom."

She smiles and switches with Vince. While Gretchen's was more heartfelt and brief, I'm sure Vince will throw in some sort of twist – some sarcasm, something embarrassing. I guess we'll find out.

He grins, finds Spin and me in the crowd, and winks before starting.

"Hey, everyone. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Vince LaSalle and I'm TJ's best man tonight. Like Gretchen just said, I have the unique opportunity as a best man in that I've known both the groom and the bride since kindergarten and consider them both two of my very best friends," he starts. Then, he adds slyly, "So, I had twenty years of material to choose from when writing this speech."

He could take this speech just about anywhere. I tighten my arms around Spin.

"If you don't know anything about TJ at all, one thing you'll learn within the first five minutes of meeting him is that he is a planner. He _loves_ planning and scheming – and that is _the only time_ he will ever get anywhere when he's supposed to, when it has to do with one of his famous plans. Back when we were in elementary school, he was a master prankster, planning these elaborate pranks and schemes, to the point where they threw a party when we graduated from Third Street onto middle school." That garners some laughs. "And, you'd think, because TJ is so Type A when it comes to his plans that this act of planning would be relaxing for him and for the most part it is, it's when he's in his element. Ninety-nine percent of the time, TJ plans and he may be a little nervous about particularly tricky parts, but otherwise he's fine. Now, the other one percent of the time, he's a nervous wreck, full of anxiety, a complete drama queen–" the crowd chuckles "–and we've come to realize that these plans almost exclusively involve Ashley Spinelli. I'm not sure what's the cause and what's the effect, but his only plans that ever truly seem to fail are plans that revolve around her."

He's right about that. I always seem to stumble over myself when I'm trying to do something for Spin.

"Another thing you'll notice really quickly is that he walks around with a backwards baseball cap on his head and it has basically become an extension of his body. It's a miracle we got him to the church without it," Vince continues. More laughter. "But, over the years, he's developed this weird nervous tick where he fiddles with the hat on his head." He mimics me and our guests chuckle. "And when he doesn't have a hat on, he still does it and ends up making an absolute mess of his hair. So, Becky and his mom came up to me last night and just kept saying, _please, Vince, please, keep his hands out of his hair, keep his hat off his head until the reception_. Not what most best men have to do but it's the job I was given."

Spin's whole body is shaking in my arms as she laughs. I shake my head as I laugh too. Of course, Gretch writes this nice heartfelt speech and Vince goes straight for the jugular. He leans down and reaches into the podium, withdrawing a box. Oh, Vinny, what are you doing?

"So, as you can probably tell from the disaster his hair is, he's been a nervous wreck all morning, worrying about all the minor details of this wedding. We've been calling him Groomzilla." This isn't a toast. This a roast. I bury my face in Spin's hair for a second before looking back up. "But, Teej, you can get your hat back now and I managed to find a wedding appropriate alternative to your favorite Cardinals hat so, on behalf of the wedding party, we'd like to gift them to you."

Out of the box, he pulls out two baseball hats. One is black, the other white. "There's a groom one for you, Teej, and a bride one for you, Spin," he says. I tosses them across to us and I catch them easily as the crowd cheers. I place it on my head and Spin puts hers on. This is fantastic. "Perfect – now you have your hat, you've got your wife–" he has to wait for hoots to stop "–so you can stop worrying!"

He turns back. "I joke and tease him all the time, but in reality, TJ worries about this kind of stuff to the extent that he does because he's so passionate. I mentioned earlier that his plans fail when they're for Spin and that's because he puts so much pressure on himself to be perfect for her, the perfect boyfriend, the perfect fiancé, and now the perfect husband. So, Spin, I would joke and say that you can still make a run for it, get it annulled, but you have the best guy I know wrapped around your finger, so I think you made out with a pretty sweet deal."

Vince grins and looks around at the different tables. "TJ is the most loyal person I've ever met. Once you're his friend, if you need anything, he's there. He'd give you the shirt off his back, the shoes off his feet, all the money in his wallet. He won't give you the cap on his head, but I guess we have to draw the line somewhere."

Again, the crowd laughs. I purposefully fiddle with the hat on my head and it just makes the wedding party behind me go into hysterics.

"But I think it's a testament to his loyalty that the majority of the people sitting at the head table have known each other since elementary school. It's hard to keep a friend for more than five minutes when you're that young, but, here we are, twenty years later, thick as thieves, and Teej, that's all you.

"Back in the fourth grade, our teacher Ms. Grotke, who is actually here tonight, gave us a homework assignment. We were learning three paragraph essay structure, so she assigned a topic that was meant to be easy for everyone to write something about – _my best friend_. Now, nine-year-old me was so excited because I was going to write about TJ. I already had it all planned out, but as we were talking at recess I started to realize everyone else in our friend group was also going to write about TJ. So, we all did what any nine-year-olds would do – we turned it on TJ himself and demanded that he tell us who his best friend was – because at that age, best friends must be mutually exclusive. When he refused to give us a name, all five of us ditched him and found someone else on the playground to write about – sorry, Spin, this story really isn't that flattering for either of us."

Spin just shrugs as the crowd chuckles. It's what happened. I lean down as Vince gets back into it and say, "Queen Spinuddi and her gang of kindergarten followers," I say.

She punches my arm.

"But, anyway, we all get our essays back and Ms. Grotke comes around to give TJ his paper and notices that she can't find it. Turns out he never passed it in because he wanted to read it out loud; so he does and it's this beautifully written essay that informed our class that he didn't have one best friend – he had five.

" _That_ is TJ Detweiler. That one story tells you more about him than any other story I have – and like I said I've got twenty years worth. TJ is loyal to a fault, even when you're not your best, and he will always believe in you, even when you don't deserve it. He's always got your back."

He turns away from the crowd and looks directly at me.

"But, that essay was wrong, Teej. You don't have five best friends. You have one – and today she became your wife."

Our guests awe. At the head table, I'm pretty sure I can see Gus crying.

"Spin, from that very first day of kindergarten there's been something special about you that drew TJ in your direction. And, I know this because he dragged me to the monkey bars at recess because he _had_ to meet you. For the next six or seven years after that day, the two of us pretty much duked it out to see who would be first string on Teej's team. I naively thought I had it in the bag, but I was unknowingly third-wheeling all through elementary and middle school because, turns out, catching cooties is actually the goal, who knew?" The crowd laughs. "When TJ told me that he liked you, I finally realized that our friendship wasn't a competition. I've never had a sister by blood, but you're my sister by friendship, and it's great to know that if by some sort of cosmic shift TJ ever does do something to really upset you, I don't have to worry about beating him up, because you'll beat me to it."

Spin throws a few pretend punches and everyone laughs. Once it dies down, he starts again.

"Usually the best man tells the bride that he's never seen the groom as happy as he is now that he's met her, but I've never known Teej without you. What I can say is that I've never seen him as upset as he is when you're mad at him, as anxious as he is when you're not around, as crazy as he is when his plans for big surprises for you don't work. And, after three botched proposals, I've seen plenty of crazy in regards to you recently."

Oh, God. Spin smirks up at me.

She knows all about how awful it was for me to propose. I had the best plan to propose while we were both home for Thanksgiving because we'd be around families and she ruined it by saying, _holiday proposals are so clichéd_ , her eyes focused on one of those Lifetime movies her mom had playing. I mean, I wasn't going to do it at the table, but still, I guess I should have known. Then I had another great plan and I left the ring on my bed rather than packed in in my suitcase when I went to visit her in Boston. That was my bad. Then, I went up again right before her graduation to start helping her pack her things and legit had everything planned, I even had Gretchen take her to get her nails done and hide with a camera while we were standing near the Charles River and literally as I was starting in on my "I love you, spend the rest of your life with me" speech, some other dude proposed literally fifty feet away from us.

I shake my head and start listening as Vince finishes up.

"Becky said I'm supposed to give you some relationship advice, but anything I've learned about relationships I've learned from you two. So, rather than recite your own lessons back at you, I'm going to give someone else a little advice. Where's Ms. Finster?"

Spin and I share a look. What is he doing?

"There she is. And Principal Prickly, perfect. This is for both of you. The minute these two announce that they're having their first kid, you should put in your five year notices to Third Street because a kid with their troublemaking DNA mixed together – good luck!"

The whole place is in hysterics as we head up, hugging Gretchen first and then Vince. I shake my head.

"I think our DNA mixed together will be adorable," I joke.

He laughs. "I didn't say they won't be cute," he says, letting go of Spin. "I mean that they're going to be little terrors. Fist-wielding wiseasses."

"How ironic would it be if they were perfect little angels," I say to Spin as Vince and Gretchen take their seats. It's our turn to thank everyone now so we take our place at the podium.

She doesn't even break a smile. "TJ, stop being delusion – we'll be lucky if they don't get expelled in kindergarten."

At least they'll be cute monsters.

I step up to the podium and remove the piece of paper I have in my suit pocket. I jotted down a few notes so I knew not to forget anyone.

"Those of you who know me well know that I'm decent at pulling together a speech on the fly, but since it's a special occasion, I wanted to write it down and make sure I don't forget anything." I open the paper and set it on the podium. "Spin promised to stop me if I get too boring, too mushy, or start rambling, so if this is bad, blame her."

The guests chuckle and I get into it. At this point, there have been a lot of speeches and I know to make it quick.

"First up, a huge thank you to my new in-laws, who I feel like have been my second parents for a long time now," I say. "You both have shown me so much hospitality over the years, whether I was just a best friend or a boyfriend or a fiancé. You've been nothing but kind to me – although, now I know you were just trying to butter me up so I'd like your daughter." Laughter starts. Spin rolls her eyes. "But, honestly, thank you so much for raising this beautiful, smart, funny, amazing girl at my side.

"While we're on the subject of raising amazing kids, my parents did alright, I guess." I smile as the crowd chuckles. "Seriously, Mom, Dad, if one day I'm half the parent you guys were to me I'll be doing a good job. You've supported me through everything and you've made Spin feel welcome from the beginning, so thank you."

I gesture to the hall.

"And, look at this place – we really couldn't have done it without all four of you, and Becky, and Joey, you've all be great with planning this while we've been in DC, so thank you, really, from the bottom of our hearts."

I look down at the sheet. I say a small thank you to the wedding party – to Vince and Gretchen for their speeches, to Mikey and Lauren for singing, to Gus for reading, to everyone for being there for us and how fortunate we feel to have them here.

After I thank them and thank the guests again for coming, I look down at the sheet and realize I've reached the bottom. One more person.

"And, last but not least, I want to thank my wife," I say. My voice cracks on wife and I try to play it off as a joke. "Still not used to that yet."

I turn to look at Spin, taking her hands in mine and I just talk to her despite the fact that this is technically addressed to the guests.

"A lot of people ask me when they find out that we were high school sweethearts if it was love at first sight and the answer, as unromantic as it sounds, is no. I didn't fall in love with you at first sight because, let's be honest, we were five and I didn't even know what love truly meant. I'm also pretty sure that at five I still wanted to marry my mom, so..."

The crowd laughs, but I don't pay them any attention. I just keep my eyes on Spin's, as she stares at me, waiting for what comes next.

"I actually think our story is a little more romantic than falling in love at first sight, because for us, love was a conscious decision. It was a risk that we needed to be willing to take together. I allowed myself to risk falling because I was confident in the foundation of our friendship to catch us if we flopped but, in the minutes before I knocked on your door and told you my feelings for you when we were fifteen, I was terrified that the choice I was making was the wrong one. On one hand, I was worried that I would lose out on what was potentially the great love of my life, but on the other hand by telling you I ran the risk of ruining the relationship I had with my best friend.

"Because, that's what you are. Vince is right. You're my best friend."

She's crying now and I wipe the tears with my thumbs before turning back toward the crowd. The words flow easily out of my mouth, without really needing to think.

"I've known I was going to marry Ashley Spinelli since the fourth grade and some of you may be shocked to hear that, but it's the honest truth. Back then, I didn't even want to be married, and I still knew deep in my heart that it was her. It was always her. Despite the fact that, like Vince said, she had cooties," I say. The crowd laughs. "Some of you may know this, most of you probably don't, but when we were nine one of our classmates told this tall tale about kissing and that in the future we were going to like kissing people. Obviously, we were all pretty shaken and decided we needed to do an experiment to test this theory...you can probably see where this story is going."

I get a few nods, a few quiet chuckles, a few people waiting on bated breath. A lot of wide eyes.

"Yup, we drew the short straws. And, at nine – actually," I turn to her, "at that point, you were still eight, weren't you?" She nods, that's right, it happened right after Gus moved in, maybe a week or so after, so it had to be September still and her birthday is in October. "Oh, man, I'm a cradle robber!"

This does the trick – anyone who had been shocked into silence about us kissing that young, which included our parents, lose the wide eyes and can't help but laugh. Spin rolls her eyes at my dramatic joke and I wait until it dies down before I continue.

"Well, anyway, when you're that young, kissing is basically a marriage proposal. So, as we got situated in front of all our curious classmates, I looked at her and said, 'we're probably gonna have to get married after this,' and she responded, 'I'm probably gonna have to kill you after this.'"

Our guests laugh for a moment and it starts back up when I joke, "She's definitely the romantic in our duo." Once they stop again, I start back in.

"As we leaned in to kiss, I remember thinking, 'you know, if I have to marry anyone, I guess I'm glad it's her,' which is high praise for a nine-year-old. I didn't even want to kiss her and I was thinking, you know, marrying her isn't a bad thing.

"Over the years though, that sentiment changed and by the time I was fifteen, sixteen years old, it was, _when I get married, I_ will _marry her_ – no one else would do. I wanted to marry Ashley Spinelli or I wasn't interested in getting married at all. Slowly, over time, without me even realizing what was happening, my tough, kind, wonderful best friend became the love of my life."

I turn to Spin and kiss tears running down her cheeks. She doesn't cry for much, but today's been a long and emotional day. So, I go to end it with some humor to see if I can get her to smile.

"I have something written down." The crowd laughs, but more importantly, it makes Spin laugh. "But I think I hit the major points." I turn to her again. "Spin, I love you. And I will always love you. And I'm so happy to be your husband."

The rest of the reception goes by in a blur. The dance floor opens with Spin and her dad, then me and my mom, and then the party gets started. At one point we have pretty much everyone on the dance floor, from the grandparents to the youngest, dancing and having a good time. Spin's family is a little crazier than mine and her aunts are more than willing to drag my mom and her sisters out onto the dance floor – it's a great time. Then it's time for the cake cutting and, despite the fact that our mothers told us not to, we end up with cake all over our faces. But, we basically got together as children and I think there's always going to be some sort of childlike fun to our relationship. Honestly, I wouldn't want it any other way. We have fun together and, after the cake, we chase each other back out onto the dance floor.

After our formal exit, the photographer takes some last minute nighttime pictures before we're allowed to get in the limo. It'll drive us back to the hotel where we'll have a little time to ourselves before it returns with our wedding party, who we've told to come knock on the door when after they get into more comfortable clothing for one last hang out session together before we all go our separate ways.

There's a little bit of champagne left in the cooler, not enough to be worth bothering with the glasses, so I grab the bottle as we start driving off. We pass the bottle back and forth.

"I'm so hungry," Spin says as she hands me the bottle.

I take a swig. I am too. We both had breakfast this morning but other than that all we've had is what we stole from Gus and the small amount of cake that actually made it into our mouths. We have the wedding food coming back with our parents, but we won't get that until they're finished cleaning up. So, really, we'll probably just get it tomorrow at brunch.

"Wanna order a pizza?"

"Yes," she says, drawing it out.

I grab my phone out of my pocket. After a quick search, I have the number and I place the order. I turn to her. "This is why we're married."

We both share a chuckle.

The pizza is only a few minutes away after we're dropped off so we wait in the lobby. The delivery guy congratulates us during the handoff and then the two of us take off to our suite. We've barely gotten in the door when we collapse on the couch, the box open on the coffee table, and start in on it.

"Oh my God," she moans. "This is the best thing I've ever eaten."

I take a bite and shake my head. "I was so focused on the pizza that I didn't even carry you over the threshold."

She snorts. "As if I need to be carried over a threshold, Teej," she says. "I'm not a damsel in distress." She takes a bite and then smirks. "I could carry you though if you really feel the need."

"You're strong, but not that strong," I say. She lifts her arm to show me her muscles and I mockingly squeeze them. "Look at those guns."

"You know, you're supposed to be nice to me tonight. I'm a bride," she says.

I shake my head. "Well, technically, you're a wife now."

She leans up and kisses me. Then she pulls away just enough to speak, a devilish look in eyes. "Since I'm no longer a bride, wanna help me out of this dress?"

I stand and pick her up, her laughter echoing through our suite as I carry her bridal style out of the living area and into the bedroom.

...

 _Notes_

 _The song Mikey and the bridesmaid sing is "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran; I imagine that it sounds a lot like the Colin & Caroline "Perfect" cover which can be found on YouTube or Spotify. I highly suggest you take a listen. Sheeran's album "divide" was released in March 2017, but the Beyonce duet was not released to YouTube until December 2017. Since their wedding is held in July and the actual male-female duet had yet to be released, Mikey and the bridesmaid were asked to sing to both be part of the wedding and to have the male-female POV, which I think TJ and Spinelli would like to have during their first dance._

 _Episodes referenced in the speeches include: "The Experiment" (Season 1, Episode 3), "Parents' Night" (Season 1, Episode 25) and "The Break Up" (Season 2, Episode 27)._

 _In Vince's speech, he says TJ's favorite hat is his Cardinals hat. That's the St. Louis Cardinals, which is the major league baseball team that is predominately popular in Arkansas, a state without a MLB team of its own. Arkansas is part of Cardinal Nation, the fanbase of the franchise._

 _TJ mentions that Spinelli was 8 during the experiment. In "Mama's Girl" (Season 2, Episode 15), it's revealed that Spinelli is a libra, meaning her birthday is sometime between September 24 and October 23, meaning she could either be one of the the oldest in her grade, turning 10 almost as soon as fourth grade starts, or one of the youngest, turning 9 at the beginning of fourth grade. Since Mikey is likely the oldest of the gang (in "Bonky Fever" (Season 4, Episode 30), Mikey is the first to turn 10), it makes it probable that Spinelli is the youngest, assuming Mikey's birthday isn't in September or early October. Given that parents' nights tend to occur in the first few weeks of school and Gus was around by that point, I assume Gus arrived to Third Street right at the beginning of the year (probably in early September if the school year began around Labor Day), that the experiment happened soon after (in early-to-mid September), and that Spinelli turned 9 sometime after that, probably right around Parents' Night (with my personal headcanon for her birthday being October 13th)._

 _Thank you to everyone who read and left reviews. I loved hearing your thoughts and feelings._

 ** _Stay tuned_** _for a Valentine's Day themed fic_ _with this universe's TJ and Spinelli as fifteen-year-olds celebrating their first Valentine's Day together. That is already written and will be posted on February 14th. If you have any additional ideas or suggestions, please feel free to reach out and let me know! I definitely enjoy writing these characters and would love to contribute more._

 _Thanks for reading!_


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